Highton Fyansford Community Group Legal Fund

Dear Neighbours,

 

We are a local community-based group, consisting of residents and small businesses who live in the Highton Fyansford area.

 

Our current primary concerns are around the proposed development of the motocross (motorbike) track just beside the Ring Road, next to our Highton and Fyansford residential estates. We are very concerned that there are many residents who may still not know about this. The proposal is for 30x dirt bikes to ride at any one time, over half of our weekends each year, as well as some weekdays, which equates to up to 74 days per year.

 

This application (PP-12-2020) was rejected by The City of Greater Geelong, but the applicant has chosen to try to overturn this decision at the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), so our fight to stop this development continues. The VCAT reference number is P11293/2021.

 

Over 400 residents who will be directly impacted by this development, lodged objections with the CoGG. Over 500 residents signed a petition opposing it.

 

A modest financial contribution by all affected households will ensure quality, experienced legal representation. The applicant has engaged legal representation for all elements of this VCAT process and residents must have their voice heard. More concerningly, the applicant has engaged 5 expert witnesses to bolster this case, with the hearing expected to run for 6 to 9 days. A group of residents have joined together to organise legal representation on behalf of the residents. You too can contribute to this to ensure we have the best chance to stop this development.

 

We empathise with the motocross community who have been without a local track, however this site is not ideally suited. There are hundreds of houses within 300m, and residents up to 1km away who are already impacted by the regular noise from 1-3 motorbikes using the land to ride.

 

The Highton Fyansford Community Group of local residents are all contributing money to help protect our community from this going ahead, however, they can’t do it alone and need help from the rest of the community to raise enough funds to support the legal process through a GoFundMe campaign.

 

Any money that can be donated will be a big help, and if we all work together, we will have the best chance of succeeding.

 

We hope you are all staying well through these uncertain times, and we know how exhausted the community is given the current global pandemic. But if we can rally together, we have a great chance of having our voices heard.

 

If you would like more information, please check out our website: https://hightonfyansfordcommunity.com/

 

And our Facebook page: https://hightonfyansfordcommunity.com/Facebook

 

Thank you for taking the time to read through this, we really appreciate your help.

 

Highton Fyansford Community Group


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Below is the estimate of professional fees for representation by James at VCAT regarding this planning permit.

The proposal includes the preliminary hearing to deal with the Cultural Heritage Management Plan in October. It also includes time spent briefing and engaging expert witnesses and time spent at a 6 – 9 day hearing itself.

In order to meet all 4 stages of the VCAT Hearing process, we will likely need the following estimated funds for the various stages and timeframes as outlined by James Lofting at HWL Ebsworth Lawyers (HWLE Lawyers):

Stage 1 = $2,000 + GST
- September until October 18, 2021 (the current preliminary hearing date)
- Review application materials and planning controls, Council decision and prepare for and attend preliminary hearing to consider need for CHMP.
- Other – No additional funding requirement expected.

Stage 2 = $1,500 + GST
- October/November 2021
- Meet with representatives, attend site visit and appear at Directions Hearing (as necessary).
- Other – Disbursements associated with the above - $500 - $1,000 (estimate).

Stage 3 = $9,500 + GST
- November 2021 – April/May 2022
- Briefing expert witnesses (assume x4). Team meeting. Settle and file evidence. Review expert evidence submitted by other parties and preparation of cross examination and submissions for hearing.
- Other – Expert Witnesses x5 (Part 1) - $30,000 - $40,000 + GST (estimate – fee proposals will be obtained).

Stage 4 = $17,820 + GST
- Representation and appearance at VCAT hearing (assume 6 days @ $2,970 + GST per day)
- Representation and appearance at VCAT hearing (assume 6 days @ $2,970 + GST per day)
- Other – Expert Witnesses x5 (Part 2) - $20,000 - $30,000 + GST (estimate – fee proposals will be obtained). Attendance by HWLE Lawyers for additional Hearing days if needed - $2,970 + GST per day (approx. $8,910 + GST for 3 days)

At a minimum we need to raise $30,820 + GST, with expert witness costs reaching in excess of $70,000 + GST. The amount raised will represent the extent of our legal case, with the maximum amount required for full representation reaching over $120,000 (after GST).

Therefore, the total/overall Go FundMe target needs to be set at approx. $120,000 (inc GST).

James Lofting (our legal representative from HWLE Lawyers) is aware that we may need to scale back our representation, depending on the funds we can raise together as a community. For now though, we are aiming for the upper amount that may be required to fund this VCAT Hearing Action.