COMMUNITY ACTION BECOMES COURT ACTION
For 8 months CAWB has vigilantly watched over Thompson Square, Windsor.
8 months … 24 hours a day … constant observation.
Now their community action has become court action with the lodging of judicial review proceedings with the Land & Environment Court.
The group defending Thompson Square are challenging the Planning Minister’s approval to demolish the existing historic Windsor Bridge and build a modern concrete bridge and new arterial approach road through Windsor’s much loved town square.
With the help of a local solicitor CAWB is assembling a team of leading barristers to work on the case. They will be asking the Land & Environment Court to declare the Minister’s approval invalid. April 4 is the first date before the court.
“This is not a decision we have taken lightly,” says CAWB chairman Dail Miller. “We are a grassroots community group defending the place we call home against catastrophic destruction being proposed by our own government.”
“If we are successful this will force the Minister to re-think his decision” says CAWB member, Pete Reynolds.“Mr Hazzard totally ignored the independent heritage experts and the impact this project will have on Thompson Square and the local community, ” he adds.
Long-time resident of the Hawkesbury, Mr Harry Terry says reflectively, “Y’know, the sixties and seventies taught people like me a lot about standing up against injustice. We haven’t forgotten those lessons.” He smiles gently, “The government knows this project is wrong and we know what injustice would look like if this plan goes ahead.”
Why did CAWB take court action this week, by lodging judicial review proceedings with the Land & Environment Court?
•The Minister for Planning approved a new bridge and approach roads over the Hawkesbury on 20 December 2013.
•The Department of Infrastructure & Planning appointed 3 independent heritage experts to prepare an Independent Heritage Review. That independent review advised Mr Hazzard:
•“the project should not go ahead because of the impact on the significance of Thompson Square Conservation Area and Windsor Bridge”
•The independent review also warned the Minister that the Heritage Assessment and Statement of Heritage Impact (SoHI) provided by the Roads and Maritime Authority to justify the project
•“is generally inadequate”
•“incomplete”
•“is insufficient to understand the significance of the Thompson Square Conservation Area”
•The Heritage Council of NSW also advised the Minister that the project should not go ahead.
CAWB had to take court action to stop this new arterial road being driven through Windsor’s premier heritage and tourism precinct, Thompson Square.
Why has the local community felt the need to keep a physical human presence in Thompson Square?
•Thompson Square was proclaimed by Governor Macquarie in 1811, making it the oldest proclaimed public square in Australia.
•Thompson Square is the much-loved heart of Windsor. With its surrounding historical buildings it is a unique heritage precinct, listed on the State Heritage Register as an item of state significance known as the Thompson Square Conservation Area.
•NSW Roads & Maritime Services plan to demolish the existing bridge (also of historical significance) and build a modern concrete bridge and new approach road through Thompson Square.
•CAWB says the new bridge and road will:
•be disastrous for the Thompson Square Conservation Area as a heritage area,
•irreversibly and seriously diminish everyday use of Thompson Square now and for the future.
•CAWB and many others argue a by-pass is the real solution.
To join in our appeal to raise funds for the legal challenge, please donate to our Fighting Fund here.
For 8 months CAWB has vigilantly watched over Thompson Square, Windsor.
8 months … 24 hours a day … constant observation.
Now their community action has become court action with the lodging of judicial review proceedings with the Land & Environment Court.
The group defending Thompson Square are challenging the Planning Minister’s approval to demolish the existing historic Windsor Bridge and build a modern concrete bridge and new arterial approach road through Windsor’s much loved town square.
With the help of a local solicitor CAWB is assembling a team of leading barristers to work on the case. They will be asking the Land & Environment Court to declare the Minister’s approval invalid. April 4 is the first date before the court.
“This is not a decision we have taken lightly,” says CAWB chairman Dail Miller. “We are a grassroots community group defending the place we call home against catastrophic destruction being proposed by our own government.”
“If we are successful this will force the Minister to re-think his decision” says CAWB member, Pete Reynolds.“Mr Hazzard totally ignored the independent heritage experts and the impact this project will have on Thompson Square and the local community, ” he adds.
Long-time resident of the Hawkesbury, Mr Harry Terry says reflectively, “Y’know, the sixties and seventies taught people like me a lot about standing up against injustice. We haven’t forgotten those lessons.” He smiles gently, “The government knows this project is wrong and we know what injustice would look like if this plan goes ahead.”
Why did CAWB take court action this week, by lodging judicial review proceedings with the Land & Environment Court?
•The Minister for Planning approved a new bridge and approach roads over the Hawkesbury on 20 December 2013.
•The Department of Infrastructure & Planning appointed 3 independent heritage experts to prepare an Independent Heritage Review. That independent review advised Mr Hazzard:
•“the project should not go ahead because of the impact on the significance of Thompson Square Conservation Area and Windsor Bridge”
•The independent review also warned the Minister that the Heritage Assessment and Statement of Heritage Impact (SoHI) provided by the Roads and Maritime Authority to justify the project
•“is generally inadequate”
•“incomplete”
•“is insufficient to understand the significance of the Thompson Square Conservation Area”
•The Heritage Council of NSW also advised the Minister that the project should not go ahead.
CAWB had to take court action to stop this new arterial road being driven through Windsor’s premier heritage and tourism precinct, Thompson Square.
Why has the local community felt the need to keep a physical human presence in Thompson Square?
•Thompson Square was proclaimed by Governor Macquarie in 1811, making it the oldest proclaimed public square in Australia.
•Thompson Square is the much-loved heart of Windsor. With its surrounding historical buildings it is a unique heritage precinct, listed on the State Heritage Register as an item of state significance known as the Thompson Square Conservation Area.
•NSW Roads & Maritime Services plan to demolish the existing bridge (also of historical significance) and build a modern concrete bridge and new approach road through Thompson Square.
•CAWB says the new bridge and road will:
•be disastrous for the Thompson Square Conservation Area as a heritage area,
•irreversibly and seriously diminish everyday use of Thompson Square now and for the future.
•CAWB and many others argue a by-pass is the real solution.
To join in our appeal to raise funds for the legal challenge, please donate to our Fighting Fund here.