Challenged on all fronts.
What can the Gibbston residents do given that the Gibbston Valley Station Fast Track application for 900 homes will soon be reviewed by an Expert Panel?
How soon will the Expert Panel look into this application?
If the original application is modified for the Expert Panel to review, will we know it? Unlikely.
If the Expert Panel calls on QLDC for their input, will we know about it?
Not sure.
Has QLDC heard our views?
We were muzzled at the last Council meeting.
Gibbston residents and ratepayers should be heard and represented by QLDC. Will QLDC be willing to support our case and ensure our key concerns are made known to the Expert Panel? Given that we were not allowed to make known our concerns, we can only conclude the answer is “ Very Unlikely”.
Our reasons for pushing back the proposed development are similar to others who are affected by their respective Fast Track applications. It is obvious, especially for a small rural area like Gibbston, where the well established and sensible environmental controls are followed, the landscape and the infrastructure do not suffer, and when the Fast Track process is compounded by the lack of transparency and the hesitation or refusal to engage with the community. Gibbston should be allowed to have a dialogue with the government, the Expert Panel and the QLDC. Instead, it is being suppressed.
A recent example of what is happening in another part of the country.
Fast-track: 11,000 new homes could be greenlit in next decade
What can we do now until the GVS application is under review by the Expert Panel?
Continue to get our message “No to 900 homes” to a wider audience:
Continue to press home this message from Gibbston. The website fogcz.org and Facebook are suitable mediums to use.
A road sign has popped out along our stretch of SH6 highway. We need more. Please consider putting up signs. Please let us know if you need help with this, and
Continue to hold firm to our right to speak and request to be heard at the various QLDC sessions. The next QLDC full council meeting is on 13 Feb25 and on 4 Feb25, there is the QLDC Planning & Strategy meeting.
FOGCZ is challenged on all fronts. There are many effective and creative ways to move forward and a number of the initiatives which were carried out, came from the supporters of FOGCZ. More suggestions and help will be welcomed.
