Archon Group Pty Limited –v- Valuer General - [2010] NSWLEC 1131

Land and Environment Court

of New South Wales

CITATION: Archon Group Pty Limited –v- Valuer General [2010] NSWLEC 1131

PARTIES:
APPLICANT
Archon Group Pty Limited
RESPONDENT
Valuer General

FILE NUMBER(S): 30769 of 2009

CORAM: Parker AC

KEY ISSUES: VALUATION OF LAND :-

LEGISLATION CITED: Land and Environment Court Act 1979
Valuation of Land Act 1916
Leichhardt Local Environmental Plan 2000

CASES CITED: Rifon 2 Pty Ltd v Valuer General [2010] NSWLEC 1115
Holcim (Australia) Pty Ltd v Valuer General [2009] NSWLEC 225
Graham Trilby Pty Limited v Valuer General [2008] NSWLEC 217
Jessica Investments Pty Ltd v Valuer General [2008] NSWLEC 1375
Tomago Aluminium Company Pty Limited v Valuer General [2010] NSWLEC 4
Spencer v Commonwealth (1907) 5 CLR 418

DATES OF HEARING: 27 and 28 May 2010

DATE OF JUDGMENT:
4 June 2010

LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES:
APPLICANT
Mr P Prilis and Mr A Prilis
RESPONDENT
Ms M Carpenter, Barrister
Instructed by Ms J Donohue and Mr P Rankins,
Solicitor for Valuer General

JUDGMENT:

THE LAND AND
ENVIRONMENT COURT
OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Parker AC

4 June 2010
30769 of 2009 Archon Group Pty Limited

v Valuer General

JUDGMENT

1 This is an appeal by Archon Group Pty Limited (the Applicant), under Section 37 of the Valuation of Land Act 1916 (the Act), against the Land Value assessed by the Valuer General (the Respondent) in respect of the property known as the Taverners Hill Hotel, 463 Parramatta Road, Leichhardt (the subject property).

Background

2 The Applicant was self represented by Mr P Prilis and Mr A Prilis, respectively.

3 The Respondent was represented by Ms M Carpenter, Barrister, instructed by Ms J Donohue and Mr P Rankins, Solicitor for the Respondent.

4 The Land Value of the subject property at 1^st July 2008 (the Base Date) was assessed by the Applicant at $495,000 and by the Respondent at $1,070,000.

5 The matter was the subject of a conference under Section 34 of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 but the parties were unable to reach agreement.

6 The matter was the subject of an on site inspection on 27^th May 2010, followed by a hearing in Court on 27^th and 28^th May 2010.

7 Section 40(2) of the Act states:

"On an appeal, the appellant has the onus of proving the appellant's case."

The subject property

8 The subject property is located in Leichhardt, an inner western suburb being approximately eight kilometres south west of the Sydney CBD in an area of retail and commercial development.

9 Situated on the corner of Parramatta Road and Rofe Street in an elevated position, the subject property is surrounded by retail and commercial development, with a significant level of vacancy, being within a fringe retail / commercial location. The subject property has a frontage to Parramatta Road, a high volume vehicular thoroughfare, with a return frontage to Rofe Street, a side street, but does not have rear lane access.

10 The subject property is improved comprising a three level…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

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Details

Case: [2010] NSWLEC 1131
Decision Date: 4 June 2010

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Land and Environment Court of New South Wales was called upon to determine the valuation of a piece of land, specifically the Taverners Hill Hotel located at 463 Parramatta Road, Leichhardt. Archon Group Pty Limited, the applicant, appealed the valuation assessed by the Valuer General, the respondent. The applicant contended that the assessed land value of $1,070,000 was too high, proposing instead a valuation of $495,000. The court had to decide whether the applicant had sufficiently demonstrated that the assessed land value was too high, as required by Section 40(2) of the Valuation of Land Act 1916. The court also had to consider the treatment of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the valuation of a comparable property, the potential impact of heritage issues, and the adjustments made to the comparable sales to account for differences between the subject property and the comparable properties.

The court found that the applicant had sufficiently demonstrated that the assessed land value was too high. The court preferred the explicit approach to valuation, where adjustments are clearly stated and reasoned, over the implicit approach, where adjustments are not clearly stated. The court found that the applicant's valuation was supported by the evidence, particularly the analysis and adjustment of the comparable sales. The court did not accept the respondent's valuation, finding it to be inconsistent with the evidence and the law. The court also found that the applicant had met its onus of proof under Section 40(2) of the Valuation of Land Act 1916.

The court upheld the appeal, setting the land value at $495,000. The court did not make any order as to costs and returned the exhibits.

Orders