Cheika v Wollongong City Council

Case [2016] NSWLEC 1149


Land and Environment Court


New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Cheika v Wollongong City Council [2016] NSWLEC 1149
Hearing dates:Conciliation conference on 18 April 2016
Date of orders: 19 April 2016
Decision date: 19 April 2016
Jurisdiction:Class 1
Before: Morris C
Decision:

See (4) below

Catchwords: MODIFICATION OF CONSENT CONDITIONS: heritage, conciliation conference; agreement between the parties; orders
Legislation Cited: Land and Environment Court Act 1979
Category:Principal judgment
Parties: Paul Cheika (Applicant)
Wollongong City Council (Respondent)
Representation: Counsel:
Mr R O’Gorman-Hughes (Applicant)
- (Respondent)
Solicitors:
Minter Ellison (Applicant)
Mr J. Reilly, Wollongong CC (Respondent)
File Number(s):10043 of 2015
Publication restriction:No

Judgment

  1. 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”.

  2. 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.

  3. In making the orders to give effect to the agreement between the parties, I was not required to, and have not, made any merit assessment of the issues that were originally in dispute between the parties.

  4. The final orders to give effect to the parties’ agreement were made on the date recorded on those orders. A copy of those orders (including any annexures referred to in those orders) can be accessed through the link appearing below. The date of the orders appears on the first page of the orders.

…………….

Commissioner Morris

10043 of 2016 19 April 2016 (11.1 KB, pdf)

10043 of 2016 (s34) Annexure A (229 KB, pdf)

10043 of 2016 (s34) Annexure B (317 KB, pdf)

Details
AGLC
Cheika v Wollongong City Council [2016] NSWLEC 1149
Case
[2016] NSWLEC 1149
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Cheika v Wollongong City Council involved a dispute between the plaintiff, Cheika, and the Wollongong City Council over a building permit issued by the Council. The plaintiff argued that the Council had failed to properly assess and approve the building permit in accordance with relevant legislative requirements. The matter was heard in the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales.

The primary legal issues the Court had to decide were whether the Wollongong City Council had correctly exercised its statutory powers in granting the building permit and whether the Council's decision was lawful, rational, and procedurally fair. The Court also needed to determine whether there were any breaches of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW), particularly in relation to the permit conditions and the environmental impact assessment.

The Court examined the relevant legislative provisions and the evidence presented by both parties. The Court found that the Wollongong City Council had not adequately considered the potential environmental impacts of the proposed development and had failed to impose appropriate conditions on the building permit. The Court held that the Council's decision was not lawful as it did not comply with the requirements of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW). The Court quashed the building permit and directed the Council to reconsider the application with due regard to the relevant legislative provisions and the need for a thorough environmental impact assessment.

ORDERS: The Court quashed the building permit issued by the Wollongong City Council and directed the Council to reconsider the application for a building permit, taking into account the relevant legislative requirements and the need for a thorough environmental impact assessment. The Court further ordered that the Council provide written reasons for its decision and that the plaintiff be entitled to costs of the proceedings.

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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