Project 2 case study continuation

The stage of appeals 1997-2003 Directly after the District Assembly's approval of the project the residents in the vicinity of the proposed route appealed against this approval. The main arguments for the appeal were that all possible alternatives had not been objectively investigated and that a better solution existed. As a supplement to the appeal the residents had conducted their own investigation that showed the benefits of their alternative relative to that proposed by the developer and the District Assembly. In the autumn of 1997, the first instance of appeal decided to reject the appeals and approve the District Assembly's decision. However, the residents were not satisfied and appealed to the second and final instance of appeal, the National Government. This raised a dilemma for the National Government, as on the one hand it was supposed to process the appeal objectively, and on the other hand it was the initiator of the project. The dilemma grew worse when two national authorities, the National Board of Housing and the Swedish Rescue Services, stated that the appeal should be approved and that the local community plan should be revised. At this stage, the District Assembly considered their job as completed and did not engage in the process of appeals, while the project developer found themselves in a situation where they could only wait. The National Government was now in a situation where they could not approve the proposed development because of the concerns that were raised by the opposing stakeholders, but they could not reject it either because the expansion of the west-coast railroad was a prioritised national concern. This situation together with an active opposition from the residents, led to a process of appeal that lasted for six years. Six years that simply prolonged the project without producing any added value. The Power/Interest Matrix for Project 2 The feasibility and conceptual The formal planning The stage of appeal design stage 1990-1994 stage 1994-1997 1997-2003 10 10 Power Power Power Level of inter 10 Level of interest 10 Level of interest Fig. 2. The Power/Interest Matrix for Project 2 The National Railway Administration The District Assembly The Railway Companies Residents in the Vicinity The National government The National Board for Housing & the Swedish Rescue Services Agency