Legal Action
On 17 June 2003, the Westfield Group, which operates a large shopping centre elsewhere in Liverpool, commenced legal action in the Land and Environment Court, arguing that a retail outlet operating out of an industrial zone was contrary to the Council's LEP. On 8 December, the Liverpool City Council decided to amend the LEP to introduce a new definition for "outlet centre" and retrospectively rezone the Orange Centre site. On 16 January 2004, the court ruled in favour of Westfield and ordered the closure of the centre's retail activities, with a deadline ultimately extended to 30 June. This verdict was subsequently upheld by the Court of Appeal on 31 March.
While the dispute had been ongoing, the Carr government had sacked the strife-torn Liverpool council, after a series of incidents of economic mismanagement, and on 16 March, it appointed Gabrielle Kibble, the daughter of former Governor-General John Kerr, as administrator. On 14 April, Kibble fowarded an application for a retrospective rezoning as an amendment to the Liverpool Local Environment Plan (LEP) to the Minister Assisting the Minister for Infrastructure and Planning (Planning Administration), Diane Beamer, as required by planning legislation.
Read more about this topic: Orange Grove Affair
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