Economy
TPC KO for Waterloo Bay barge plan
Huon Valley Guessing Games
After months of wrangling over engineer Dennis Bewsher’s application to establish a bulk-handling facility to service barges at Surges Point, Waterloo Bay, the Tasmanian Planning Commission has declared it has “no jurisdiction” to consider the matter.
Basically, it has done this on the ground that Huon Valley Council (HVC), according to a June 22, 2015, letter from the TPC’s “executive officer planning”, “did not have the power to apply for the specified departure under the Esperance Planning Scheme 1989 as it is presently drawn”.
The June 22 letter to the 200-plus representors, only 15 of whom supported the Bewsher applications, reads:
Dear representor
Draft amendment PSA‐1/2014 and permit DA‐65/2014 Esperance Planning Scheme 1989
Transport Depot, Huon Highway, Waterloo
Further to the hearings into this matter held on 16 February 2015 and 5 May 2015, the Delegates have reached a decision.
The Delegates have decided that the Huon Valley Council did not have the power to apply for the specified departure under the Esperance Planning Scheme 1989 as it is presently drawn. Accordingly, the Tasmanian Planning Commission has no jurisdiction to consider the draft amendment and permit.
Please find enclosed for your information a copy of the Delegates decision. If you wish to seek any further clarification about this decision please contact Liza Fallon, Planning Adviser, on 03 6165 6806.
Yours sincerely
Karen Fyfe
Executive Officer Planning
The TPC’s 8-page “decision and reason for decision” is at:
http://www.iplan.tas.gov.au/Temp/TrimDownload_639768.PDF
It would be surprising if this were the end of the matter. It’s hard to imagine that Bewsher (and/or supporters), having poured so many thousands of dollars into this “vision”, would now give up on the plan.
One observer of the saga notes cautiously: “There are still a number of unknown twists and traps in this story.”
There have been question marks against HVC’s authority to handle Bewsher’s applications. And now the TPC’s final decision leaves egg all over council management’s face.
So, what will be council’s next move? Already it has spent thousands of public dollars supporting approval of the Bewsher project, and this despite the opposition of 188 of about 200 representors and of four of the nine councillors, including Mayor Peter Coad, who argued it could not be allowed under the terms of the land-use planning laws.
(Former HVC mayor Robert Armstrong, now MLC, was a strong supporter of the Bewsher plan, and presided over its introduction at his final council meeting, last October, when it was approved, as required by law, for public consultation.)
Most ratepayers familiar with this (yet another) HVC disaster, are keeping their fingers crossed that council won’t decide to fight the TPC decision in the Supreme Court; and that they won’t be forking out any more cash for splurging on the promotion of something they don’t want.
A complicating factor is that the “Huon Valley Draft Interim Planning Scheme” went before council last night (June 24) for approval and moving on to the Minister for Planning and Local Government “for a Declaration by the Minister as an Interim Planning Scheme” — which looks as if it means that Bewsher, should he intend to pursue his vision, would have to submit a fresh proposal under the new scheme.
Who knows what will happen? What is important is to maintain the campaign to keep private hands off a lease on publicly-owned Crown land on the Huon foreshore at Surges Point.
So, it’s back to guessing games. Says one observer, for now, at least, “we ought to celebrate”, because Round One has gone to the Protect Waterloo Bay campaigners. — Bob Hawkins
For background reading, go to:
http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/index.php?/article/more-pie-in-the-sky-in-the-huon/
http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/index.php?/article/huon-valley-guessing-games-the-waterloo-bay-fiasco/
http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/index.php?/article/waterloo-bay-the-great-deceit/
http://iplan.tas.gov.au/Pages/XC.Home/Home.aspx
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• Karl Stevens in Comments: Looks like Paul Harriss is being towelled-down in his corner ready to go in for another round, albeit a bit more punch-drunk than before. What will he resort to now? The Magna Carta, the Mabo Decision or the Huonville stormwater and drainage plan?