Rehab centre bid on hold

FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019 themercury.com.au SUBSCRIPTIONS 1300 696 397 THE proponents of a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre at the former Meander Primary School are waiting to see if their opponents will appeal a planning tribunal decision before moving forward.

Last year, a Supreme Court judge set aside a decision by the Resource Management and Planning Appeal Tribunal about the controversial project.

Justice Michael Brett ordered the application by Christian faith-based organisation Teen Challenge for a women’s and children’s rehabilitation centre be reheard to a differently constituted tribunal.

Timber World Pty Ltd had originally challenged the Meander Valley Council’s 2017 approval of the development, claiming it was wrongly categorised as hospital services and should have been residential.

Then tribunal chairman Greg Geason ruled the categorisation was incorrect and ruled the permit invalid.

The tribunal had also determined it did not have jurisdiction to hear the case.

The Meander Valley Council appealed on several grounds to the Supreme Court.

After the decision was overturned in court, a new tribunal considered the appeal and dismissed it earlier this month.

The appeal was ultimately on the ground the proposal did not comply with bushfire performance criteria, but the ground was dismissed.

The appellant has 28 working days to decide if they will appeal that decision.

The project has come up against strenuous opposition from the Meander Residents and Ratepayers Association, which was opposed to the siting of the centre and the fact it was a faith-based program rather than a medical model of rehabilitation.

Teen Challenge executive director Tanya Cavanagh said the organisation would wait until the appeal period was over before making any decisions: “In the meantime, we’re still working helping people, our youth work is going gangbusters. We’ll just keep doing what’s important, which is for kids to not end up needing rehab,” she said.