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A PUSH to have a rescission motion negating the development consent for a Bermagui Woolworths has been rejected by council.
Opponents of the Bermagui Woolworths development asked three councillors to lodge a rescission motion.
However, Mayor Bill Taylor said it was too late for such a rescission motion to be put forward, as it would leave the council open to legal action from the developer.
He made an official statement on the rescission application as part of the Mayoral Minute at the beginning of Wednesday’s council meeting.
“Councillors will be aware that over the last week or so there have been a number of submissions received by councillors that a rescission motion will be dealt with by this council in regard to the Bermagui Woolworths development,” Cr Taylor said.
“My statement is that three councillors lodged a rescission motion on Wednesday April 30 in regard to a resolution of council from Wednesday April 16, precisely the consent for development at Bermagui.
“According to council’s code of meeting practice, notices of rescission should be foreshadowed at the meeting at which the original resolution was determined or should be received within three days of the publication of draft minutes.
“This is to prevent the resolution being enacted prior to consideration of the rescission motion.
“This rescission motion was not within the time frame required by the council’s code of meeting practice.
“Accordingly, council staff have proceeded with action from the resolution – that’s the resolution to grant consent – and that consent has been issued to the applicant.
“That was done prior to the rescission notice motion being received by staff.
“We’ve confirmed this by legal advice, regarding the validity of the rescission motion.
“The advice we got is, the notice to rescind or alter the resolution is ineffective because no further action to carry the resolution into effect needed to the taken as the consent notice had been sent and acknowledged, that’s the legal advice.
“In other words, staff not being on notice of any potential rescission motion, actioned that consent by advising the applicant of the consent and once that had happened there is no provision for a rescission motion.
“I make this statement for the benefit of quite a number of people who petitioned councillors to present a rescission motion at this meeting.
“Put in simple terms, when development consents are issued, once a council makes its decision and that decision is relayed to the applicant, having no notice of a rescission motion they are entitled to take action on that consent.
“If council subsequently rescinds that motion it would leave council open to a potential claim for damages by the application.
“So that rescission motion will not be dealt with by council.”