VCAT - Dogs club ‘vital’ - **new article update 09/02/10**

[comrade]

Victory!

[Sedat]

Fantastic news. The irony of this protracted dispute is that Club Edgewater has the potential to become a vibrant family hub for the residents that were so vehemently opposed to it in the first place.

[chef]

Victory!

About time.

[The Coon Dog]

2 articles in the Herald Sun:


Council won't appeal decision to approve Western Bulldogs development



Council fails to block Bulldog Hilton

[Remi Moses]

I just don't get it why wasnt the council worried all those years ago when Highpoint and The Powell Hotel had pokies or Flemington for that matter. This just reeks of a couple of Blow-ins incessantly whinging

[Topdog]

Did I read correctly that the council is still going to waste more time by objecting to the liqueur license now?

[LostDoggy]

Did I read correctly that the council is still going to waste more time by objecting to the liqueur license now?

Correct.

ps. you forgot to mention wasting ratepayers' money as well. Any locals on here that have a view on that?

[Prince Imperial]

Did I read correctly that the council is still going to waste more time by objecting to the liqueur license now?

The Maribyrnong Leader article listed earlier only indicated that RAIDIM, the resident's group, would object. I haven't seen anything saying they would.

If I was a ratepayer in that municipality, I would be very angry with that council.

http://www.themail.com.au/news/local...r/1660741.aspx

[alwaysadog]

I love this bit.

"Council cannot provide any details on legal issues or legal cases undertaken by council's legal experts; this would be a clear breach of confidentiality that would compromise the integrity of the issues being managed."

It's pure Jeff Kennett: I believe in transparency except when I might look bad; in such circumstances it is clearly not in the public interest to be providing any information.

[BulldogBelle]

I doubt the RADIM group would be too happy reading this article......

Western Bulldogs bid didn’t hurt Edgewater sales - developer
The Maribyrnong Leader | Andre Awadalla | Jan 12, 2010

THE real estate company selling homes in Maribyrnong’s Edgewater estate says property prices “remained strong” while the fate of the Western Bulldogs’ proposed function centre was being decided.

Delfin Lend Lease chief operating officer Bryce Moore said “several established properties” in the estate attracted sales prices of more than $1 million last year.

“We anticipate prices will continue to increase within Edgewater, given the shortage of future residential supply,” Mr Moore said.

Last month, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal approved the construction of the Western Bulldogs’ controversial Club Edgewater, a function centre that will also have 70 poker machines.

The news came as a blow to the Residents Against Inappropriate Development in Maribyrnong group and Maribyrnong Council, which had opposed the plan.

Click HERE to read the remainder of the article....

[Remi Moses]

What a sad lot they are still throwing their toys out of the cot. Maybe in light of recent happenings they might listen to local concerns and make Cruikshank park a safer place to walk in at night!! Ratepayers must be furious with the utter waste of their rates on this matter.

[LostDoggy]

Has Michael Clark jumped ship?

[BulldogBelle]

Maribyrnong City Council will not appeal decision ...

Backing out
Star News Group | Charlene Gatt | 9th February 2010

MARIBYRNONG City Council forked out more than $825,000 in legal fees to fight the Club Edgewater development, it has been revealed.

And in another blow to residents, the council has told Edgewater residents it will not appeal the Club Edgewater Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) decision in the Supreme Court despite having legal grounds to do so.

In a meeting last Wednesday, Maddocks lawyer Maria Marshall said the council had immediately looked into the prospect of an appeal after the decision was handed down on 16 December.

An appeal could only be made in the Supreme Court if the council lodged a request citing a vitiating error – that is, an error in law that is so significant it could have altered the decision – within 28 days of the decision being handed down.

Ms Marshall said the council had grounds to appeal because VCAT ruled the group of shops adjacent to the development site met only three of the four criteria for being a strip shopping centre.

The fourth point dictates that the land had to be zoned for business use. The land in question falls under a comprehensive development zone, which planning and property development manager John Karageorge said was a “holding zone” as the Edgewater estate built up.

“There was not great prospects of success. While we didn’t think it was completely hopeless…but we couldn’t see a strong prospect of success,” Ms Marshall said.

“There’s no guarantee or prospect that we were right or the Tribunal was wrong.”

Mr Karageorge admitted the Club Edgewater hearing had been the council’s most expensive case ever, with more than $825,000 spent on lawyers and expert witnesses on last year’s VCAT hearing and the 2008 Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation hearing.

He said a Supreme Court appeal would, conservatively, cost the council about $80,000 if they won, and double that if they lost.

Click HERE to read the remainder of the article....

[always right]

What were the club's legal costs?

[Sockeye Salmon]

What were the club's legal costs?

And send the bill to the council