North East Link: Manningham Council to take legal action against authority over road project
Manningham Council will join three other councils in Melbourne’s east in taking legal action against the development of the $15.8 billion North East Link.
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UPDATE: A fourth Melbourne council will take legal action in a united effort to halt the $15.8 billion North East Link.
Manningham councillors unanimously agreed on Tuesday night to seek a judicial review into the road project’s independent Advisory Committee hearing process, as well as Planning Minister Richard Wynne’s assessment of its environmental effects statement.
The council will join Banyule, Whitehorse and Boroondara councils for a Supreme Court challenge – which was announced earlier this week.
A council spokeswoman, who did not want to be named, said Manningham had “aligned” with the councils and was working with them on the legal challenge.
The spokeswoman said legal proceedings had to be filed by Tuesday, February 18 and a hearing date would then be determined by the Supreme Court.
Mr Wynne gave the project the green light with his response to the environmental effects statement in December.
Mayor Paul McLeish said the council felt taking legal action was “a necessary investment to ensure the best outcome for our community and the environment”.
He said the council had questions about the approval of the NEL design and its impact which remained unanswered.
“The proposed reference design does not convey the full impacts of the project on our community and environment,” he said.
“The project concept still leaves much to be determined — so much of the impact on our community remains unknown with the decisions to be made at a later date by a consortium that hasn’t yet been awarded a contract.
“A greater level of clarity is required from the North East Link Project Authority about what will and won’t be included in the project.”
The council listed 11 key areas where it wanted improvements to the project.
They include support for businesses in the Bulleen Industrial Precinct and protection of parkland at Bulleen Park — both of which are set to be wiped out by the road’s construction.
“There is still no certainty on the outcome for the 1200 jobs that may go at the Bulleen Industrial Precinct,” Cr McLeish said.
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“The future of our community’s parkland, sporting grounds and open spaces are still unknown with no guarantees on how and when they’ll be addressed.”
The four councils have already spent a combined $1.3 million of ratepayers money on legal fees challenging the road at the independent Advisory Committee hearing last year.