Latrobe City councillors have voted to write to the planning minister urging him to reverse his decision to approve the Used Lead Acid Battery (ULAB) recycling facility at Hazelwood North.

At a special meeting last night, councillors expressed their frustration about the minister's intervention after Council rejected the proposal.

Council said it will continue to strongly advocate to the Minister for Planning to listen to the community. They will write to the Minister demanding urgent action to reverse his decision.

During the meeting, councillors expressed their ongoing frustration and disappointment about the ministerial intervention into this matter under the auspice of the government’s Development Facilitation Program.

Council said it empathises with the community. "However, Latrobe City Council will not request a judicial review of the Victorian Planning Minister’s approval of Amendment C129 to the Latrobe Planning Scheme, which enables the ULAB facility to proceed."

A Latrobe City Council statement released after the meeting said: "Since receiving advice of the Planning Minister’s decision, Council has sought to ensure that community sentiment relating to the health and environmental impacts of the approved facility have been communicated to government.

"In past weeks, Council has written to the Premier of Victoria, along with Ministers for Health and Planning to seek an understanding as to why State Government did not make any reference in the Latrobe Planning Scheme of the Health Innovation Zone when it was announced, given its commitment for better health outcomes for the Latrobe community

"Last September, following extensive community consultation, Council rejected an application for a planning permit for the ULAB Recycling Facility, noting that it did not meet the requirements of the Latrobe City Planning Scheme. At tonight’s meeting, Council reconfirmed their stance on the planning permit and standby their decision," the statement said.