NEWCASTLE lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes has hit out at a controversial housing estate at Minmi she says "should never have been approved".
In a mayoral minute on Tuesday, Labor Cr Nelmes slammed the Hunter and Central Coast Planning Panel's decision to approve the 858-lot development on Monday, despite concerns about environmental destruction and social impacts.
The heated debate united councillors from different political camps against what they called an "outdated" concept plan that's "just not good enough".
"I do think it is absolutely within our right as representatives of this community in Newcastle, at this point in time, to make sure we take these challenges and the fight of residents up to the higher levels, particularly within the Department of Planning," Cr Nelmes said.
"The big issue here is the 2013 concept plan should never have been approved under the previous government under Part 3A, it was a poor process and it was a poor decision, and it was actually a poor decision even in 2013.
"I don't think we can let this slip past without fighting and standing up for our local community."
The mayoral minute reiterated that the council does not support the 'outdated' 2013 concept plan and feels its approval does not meet community standards or modern planning instruments.
Just four councillors voted against the motion, and the council will now call on the state government to heed community and council concerns, immediately halt the DA process and revise the proposal.
A spokesperson for Planning Minister Paul Scully told the Newcastle Herald on Tuesday that he would not overturn the panel's decision on Minmi Estate.
The 858 lots on the Newcastle side of the development will join another 1070 which have already been approved in Lake Macquarie.
Newcastle councillors raised concerns not just about the environmental impacts of the proposal, but a lack of housing diversity they say flies in the face of the state government's own push to address the housing crisis.
Issues with a lack of infrastructure, public transport and the ability of local roads to handle a significant increase in traffic were also raised.
Labor Cr Elizabeth Adamczyk said Minmi residents are already at the receiving end of a public transport deficit in an area isolated by two key roads that service the city's western corridor.
"This is an area that already struggles with irregular and unreliable public transport, not really having adequate or proximate access to regular bus services and trains as well," she said.
She said the subdivision was an example of "bad planning" badged as housing release and intensive residential development.
Not everyone was in support of the mayoral minute, with Liberal councillors Jenny Barrie, Callum Pull, Katrina Wark and Independent John Church voting against it.
Cr Barrie said she was excited at the prospect of a "satellite city" on the fringe of Lake Macquarie, Cessnock and Newcastle.
She said if the city needs regional class road networks and upgrades, now is the time to ask for them.
Cr Pull said while he didn't believe the council had the legal grounds to take the issue further up the chain, he acknowledged the "negligent" effect it could have.
"The concept DA was approved in 2013, that means that there has been 11 years for all levels of government to be preparing for that population growth," he said.
"That's 11 years that transport links, hospitals, schools could have been planned, which haven't been."
Hunter Central Coast Regional Planning Panel chairman Paul Mitchell said the panel had unanimously approved the application on the basis that it was in the public interest.
He gave a number of reasons for approving it, including that it was generally consistent with the approved concept plan for the area and that it was an appropriate use of the land.
