NEWS
The City Council administration will alter the existing park zoning for Howard Smith Wharves to allow for a hotel and convention centre to built there without the public having a right to object to or appeal the move, local councillor David Hinchliffe claims.
The Central Ward councillor said the move was expected at yesterday’s weekly council meeting as this edition of The Independent went to press.
In an email to members of an action group seeking for the wharves to be retained as parkland, Cr Hinchliffe wrote: “The change [to the city plan] will effectively rezone the site to make such uses as ‘hotel’, ‘convention centre’, ‘office’ and ‘industry’ ‘code assessable’ rather than ‘impact assessable’.
“Code assessment means an application is lodged (by council or by a developer) and the public doesn’t see it, doesn’t have the right to object to it and certainly doesn’t have the right to appeal against the final decision on it. Impact assessment means that an application has to go through the full process of public scrutiny.
“As you all know about four months ago the council withdrew its application because of the appeal which local residents mounted.
“This is a very underhand way of going around local opposition to achieve their aims.”
Cr Hinchliffe said the Howard Smith Wharves were zoned parkland in the 1990s and confirmed as parkland in the 2000 City Plan introduced by the Soorley Administration.
The Newman Council’s plan to construct hotel/convention centres and offices had been regarded as an “impact assessable” application and deemed under the existing City Plan as “generally inappropriate” under the zoning.
“When this change to City Plan rules goes through on Tuesday that will then change. This is a breathtaking attempt to sidestep and trash the existing “parkland” zoning of Howard Smith Wharves. It flies in the face of a public appeal.
“It’s a blunt and brutal way of getting themselves out of the development application mess they fell into when we took them on.”
• The Independent asked Lord Mayor Campbell Newman to counter Cr Hinchliffe’s claims. No response had been received by press time. It will be placed online when it is received.
