Shellharbour councillors have voted to prepare a formal planning proposal to heritage list their council’s northern border.
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Previously councillors put an interim order around parts of its border with Wollongong, which was “under imminent threat as a result of the current merger proposal by the state government”.
Now a proposal to amend the city’s heritage maps and local environmental plan will be sent to the NSW planning department for a “gateway determination” and will then be put on public exhibition.
Once residents have had their say on the plans, another report will come back to councillors for adoption.
However, with staff telling councillors that this process would take “two to three months”, it remains to be seen if Shellharbour council will exist by then. The council is still waiting for the Land and Environment Court to hand down the judgement on its legal challenge.
Last month, after a legal challenge similar to that mounted by Shellharbour, justice Brian Preston dismissed Woollahra council’s arguments and awarded it to pay the government’s costs.
However, Woollahra is appealing this decision.
Should the Shellharbour decision go the same way, the council may also elect to appeal which will drag out the legal process over the merger with Wollongong for some months.