The residents sought legal advice, believing they would be impacted by the path being within six metres of their houses.

Sandy Easterbrook is fighting the Orion Beach shared pathway’s location, for which a tender was awarded on Tuesday. 

Mr Easterbrook family owns a property at Vincentia that backs onto the proposed path route.

He claimed it was a legally dangerous decision to award a tender this week because two law firms were looking into a number of issues relating to the project.

“The path is going to be so close to their houses. Imagine what having something three metres from your house is like,” Mr Easterbrook said.

In a deputation to council on Tuesday he said it was unnecessary to award the tender so soon because council was yet to satisfy issues relating to Aboriginal heritage requirements. 

He also pointed out council’s budget was still on public exhibition and had not been finalised.

One law firm was advising the Orion Beach Environment Protection Group which had questioned whether there was a conflict of interest relating to the federal funds donated to the project.

In his deputation Mr Easterbrook also claimed a law firm found council’s Review of Environmental Factors (REF) downplayed the environmental damage the path would cause.

“Council should not have taken the decision to award the tender,” he said.

“The last thing we want to do is have litigation but the way this has been done, like a bull in a china shop, we don’t have much option,” he said.