FUND TARGET REACHED –

APPEAL NOW

CLOSED – THANKS EVERYONE!

URGENT!! WEPA FUND FOR TUNNEL LEGAL ADVICE

Although the Beaches Link Tunnel project has been deferred, it has not been cancelled. A budget line of $1m has been made available for the coming year; compulsory home acquisitions are proceeding, and planning approval for the project is expected to come through in the next month or two.

We need your help to raise $5,000 for an initial legal opinion, which will open the way to a larger legal challenge to the Beaches Link.

WEPA wishes to obtain an opinion from Senior Counsel, experienced in environmental law, as to whether the forthcoming planning approval might be successfully overturned if challenged. The basis of the challenge would be that the Government has failed to consider alternatives eg a high-speed, high-frequency, public transport connection, between Frenchs Forest and the Chatswood Interchange, to connect with the Metro (due for completion in 2024)[1].

We are asking members to help us raise $5,000 to pay for this initial legal advice. We will also be sending this request to other networks on the Northern Beaches and to Stop the Tunnels, so that they too can donate.

Time is tight, as there is a limit of three months from the time approval is given to commence the project for a full legal challenge to be commenced.

How to Donate

If you would like to help us pave the way to stopping the Beaches Link tunnel, please go to this page on the WEPA website and follow the instructions to donate to the fund:

DONATIONS NOW CLOSED

To see updates as we build the fund and to check the outcomes of the legal advice please visit us regularly on the WEPA website and the WEPA Facebook page.

[1] In the recent matter of North Parramatta Residents Action Group v Infrastructure NSW, the Land and Environment Court recognised that a lack of consideration by the Government of alternative approaches in relation to public projects can be used as a valid basis for a challenge.