A RATEPAYER is claiming he was denied natural justice by Ballarat City Council at a February 22 meeting.
Grant Tillett has asked for an apology and an explanation over his alleged treatment when he was speaking on Amendment C149, which deals with a special use zone around Dowling Forest.
Mr Tillett said his submission time was cut short after mayor Mark Harris had earlier told him he could have extra time for one larger submission, rather than presenting five submissions on behalf of himself and four other residents who were not at the meeting.
But he said he was told he would only be given the usual five minutes allocated to submissions when he arrived for the meeting.
Mr Tillett said an amendment that officers continue community consultation over Amendment C149 after the February 22 meeting was not added to the recommendation, despite being told earlier in the day it would by the council’s chief executive officer Anthony Schink.
He said the council’s growth and development director, Eric Braslis, also failed to explain at the meeting why Amendment C149 was being heard with Amendment C148, dealing with rural land use, at a panel hearing in late April.
A letter by Mr Tillett’s lawyer, Dean Cinque of Cinque, Oakley, Senior, has since been sent to both the council and Local Government Minister Jeanette Powell.
Ballarat mayor Mark Harris, who chaired the meeting on February 22, said he did not believe an apology was necessary.