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Austral Bricks wins approval to develop red clay quarry
Development of a red clay quarry in Wallan, Victoria received approval from the state’s Civil and Administrative Tribunal after an appeal against Whittlesea Shire Council’s decision to refuse a planning permit.
Jerome Doraisamy
Firm: Gadens (Austral Bricks); Maddocks (Whittlesea Shire Council); Norton Rose Fulbright (Villawood); Best Hooper (Newbridge).
Deal: Austral Bricks will develop the quarry after VCAT held that the net community benefit of approving the quarry “outweighed any negative impacts which might arise in allowing extraction before finalisation of the longer term strategic planning for the area”.
Value: N/A
Area: Planning and Environment
Key players: Gadens’ team was led by partner Meg Lee, who was supported by senior associate Kate Kirby and lawyer Zina Teoh. The team worked with barrister Stuart Morris QC and Nicola Collingwood, who acted as junior counsel.
Deal significance: The firm said the quarry will be established to allow up to around 4.13 million tonnes of red plastic clay to be extracted, “thereby allowing the production of bricks at Austral’s existing Wollert Plant well into the future and supporting the increasing demand for bricks for Melbourne’s ever-growing housing market”.
Ms Lee said: “We are thrilled with the result for Austral Bricks as we know how important the quarry is for the future pipeline of raw materials for brick manufacturing and supply of bricks for housing in the growth areas.”
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.
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