The council is still awaiting a decision on a lengthy court case regarding the proposed Islamic Cemetery at Marulan.
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Asked at Tuesday’s council meeting whether the NSW Land and Environment Court had given any indication of a decision date, general manager Warwick Bennett said he hoped it would be by Christmas.
“Which Christmas that will be, I can’t tell you,” he joked.
The court has heard all arguments mounted by the proponent, the Al Mabarrat Benevolent Society and the council. In early April it reserved judgement. The Society is challenging the council’s December, 2015 refusal of the 11,000-plot cemetery near Marulan.
Meantime, Mr Bennett confirmed the council would claim an estimated $80,000 in ‘throwaway court costs’ in the case.
He said this would cover the “time, money and effort” put into mounting counter-arguments on stances the applicant had taken, only to have the DA changed several times. This had made the arguments redundant.
The council refused the project on eight grounds including traffic impact, “inconsistencies” in information, bushfire risk, “insufficient information” regarding use of a service hall and its permissability in the zone.
Councillors refused the controversial DA on eight grounds. These included that: Water NSW had not issued concurrence; the applicant had not demonstrated traffic could be safely managed; inconsistencies in supplied information that did not allow proper assessment; and bushfire risk.
The court case has been running since 2016.