Residents fail in court bid against Packer’s Crown Casino

A final attempt by a group of Perth residents to have the planning approval for James Packer’s Crown casino in Burswood torn up has failed.

This week the Western Australian Court of Appeal dismissed the case in a unanimous decision.

The Burswood residents had argued Crown Resorts had obtained a permit that was outside of the normal approvals process.

Crown has already begun work on the 688-room hotel that is being built on land abutting its Burswood casino.

The Burswood Residents Action Group lodged their appeal after losing a Supreme Court case last year over the planning permit.

The lower court found that the land on which the hotel is being built fell within the Casino Agreement Act that covers Burswood Island and thus the permit was valid.

Under the act, Crown was exempt from having to file plans with state planning authorities or the local council. It is understood an appeal to the High Court is unlikely.

The Court of Appeal upheld the first ruling, with Chief Justice Wayne Martin saying the claim by the residents was “contrary to the natural and ordinary meaning of the words used in the Casino Act”.

The project has faced immense scrutiny after it was revealed the Barnett government sold Crown the land for $65 million despite the site being valued at $90m.

The residents are also up in arms about the new Perth Stadium to be built on the Burswood peninsula. Last year Brookfield won the contract to build the $800m stadium, but a secret push to link the stadium to the hotel and casino complex, revealed by The Australian, was abandoned after a community backlash.

The $570m hotel is expected to be completed in 2016.

Source:  The Australian - 27th March 2015