MPs say people power forced council rethink

These two MPs say people power forced a local council to back away from plans to deprive residents the right to formally oppose certain developments.

But they have warned that the battle on this issue isn’t over yet.

At its meeting last week, Liverpool City Council resolved not to revoke its Social Impact Assessment (SIA) Policy – as it had proposed to do – until a suitable replacement is developed

The meeting followed strong calls from local MPs Charishma Kaliyanda and Nathan Hagarty (pictured above) against the council move.

They argued the SIA Policy remains an important tool that ensures major developments in Liverpool assess their impacts on the local community.

The policy has allowed residents to push back against proposals that would have caused serious harm to neighbourhoods, including the major pub development in Casula that was successfully stopped.

Also, they pointed out how this policy provides a clear and accountable framework for assessing both positive and negative impacts of significant developments, particularly at a time when transparency at Council continues to be a concern.

During the council meeting, it was moved that the policy not be revoked and that a workshop be held instead to develop a new framework.

It was also revealed that the proposal to revoke the policy had already been discussed in a closed-door session, but no action had been taken by Councillors at that time.

Once the issue was raised publicly and residents began contacting Councillors, opposition to removing the policy increased sharply.

While the SIA Policy remains in place for now, the matter will return to Council following the workshop.

Ms Kaliyanda and Mr Hagarty said they would continue to monitor this issue closely.

“This is a great outcome for our community and reflects the strong advocacy of residents who reached out to their local councillors to call for this policy to stay in place,’’ said the Member for Liverpool Charishma Kaliyanda.

“While keeping this policy in place is a positive step, Council has indicated it will workshop a replacement. It is important that our community stays engaged throughout that process to make sure any new approach offers the same strong protections for local residents as the current policy does against unsuitable development proposals.”

Member for Leppington Nathan Hagarty said that he was pleased to see this policy has been kept in place, but warned this could be a temporary move.

“It’s worrying that Councillors only shifted their stance after the issue became public, despite earlier private discussions about removing the policy,’’ he said.

“While this is a good result, the matter will return after a workshop, and I’ll be monitoring it closely to ensure our community’s protections aren’t weakened.”