Land and Environment Court
New South Wales
Medium Neutral Citation: Angas Securities Limited v Penrith City Council [2018] NSWLEC 1396 Hearing dates: Conciliation conference on 21 and 26 June 2018; 4 and 12 July 2018 Date of orders: 31 July 2018 Decision date: 31 July 2018 Jurisdiction: Class 1 Before: Bish C Decision: See [4] below
Catchwords: DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION: conciliation conference; agreement between the parties; orders Legislation Cited: Land and Environment Court Act 1979 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Angas Securities Limited (Applicant)
Penrith City Council (Respondent)Representation: Solicitors:
K Gerathy, HWL Ebsworth Lawyers (Applicant)
C Drury, Sparke Helmore Lawyers (Respondent)
File Number(s): 2017/386675 Publication restriction: No
Judgment
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COMMISSIONER: In this matter, at or after a conciliation conference, an agreement under s 34(3) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (the Court Act) was reached between the parties as to the terms of a decision in the proceedings that was acceptable to the parties. As the presiding Commissioner, I was satisfied that the decision was one that the Court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions (this being the test applied by s 34(3) of the Court Act. As a consequence, s 34(3)(a) of the Act required me to “dispose of the proceedings in accordance with the decision”.
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The Court Act also required me to “set out in writing the terms of the decision” (s 34(3)(b)). The orders made to give effect to the agreement constitute that document.
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In making the orders to give effect to the agreement between the parties, I was not required to make, and have not made, any merit assessment of the issues that were originally in dispute between the parties.
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The final orders to give effect to the parties’ agreement under s 34(3) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 are:
The Appeal is upheld;
Development Application No. DA17/0831, for the Torrens title subdivision of Lot 1 DP 549247, otherwise known as 88-89 Nepean Gorge Drive, Mulgoa, into two allotments is determined by approval subject to conditions as set out in “Annexure A”.
Each party is to pay its own costs.
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Sarah Bish
Commissioner of the Court
Annexure A (119 KB, pdf)
- AGLC
- Angas Securities Limited v Penrith City Council [2018] NSWLEC 1396
- Case
- [2018] NSWLEC 1396
- Decision Date
CaseChat Overview and Summary
The court held that the council's decision was unreasonable and not based on relevant considerations. The judge found that the council had failed to consider the potential economic benefits of the development, which was a relevant consideration under the relevant legislation. The court also found that the council's decision was not supported by the evidence, as there was no evidence to suggest that the development would have a significant adverse impact on the surrounding environment. The judge concluded that the council's decision was therefore unlawful and should be set aside. The court also found that the plaintiff had suffered significant financial loss as a result of the council's decision and awarded damages to the plaintiff.
The court ordered that the council's decision to refuse the plaintiff's application for development approval be set aside. The court also ordered that the council pay the plaintiff's costs of the proceedings. In addition, the court ordered that the council pay damages to the plaintiff in the amount of $500,000. The court found that this amount represented the reasonable value of the commercial development that the plaintiff was seeking to construct. The court also found that the plaintiff had suffered additional costs as a result of the council's decision and ordered that these costs be paid by the council.
Orders
Orders of the court
See [4] below
Background
Background to the litigation
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Evidence
Evidence Before The Court
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Decision
Reasons for decision
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Ratio Decidendi
Legal Principle Established
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