City Of Wanneroo and SCUTTI

The City of Wanneroo applied to the Western Australian Planning Commission for a determination that certain land, owned by SCUTTI, was not injuriously affected by the City's planning scheme. The land in question had been identified as public open space in the Wanneroo Structure Plan and was subject to a prohibition on development unless it was for a public purpose. SCUTTI opposed the application on the basis that the land was injuriously affected and therefore entitled to compensation. The Commission found in favour of the City, concluding that the land was not injuriously affected by the planning scheme. SCUTTI appealed this decision to the Supreme Court of Western Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the identification of the land as public open space in the Structure Plan constituted an amendment of the town planning scheme, which would trigger the requirement for compensation under the Planning and Development Act 1928 (WA). SCUTTI argued that the adoption of the Structure Plan, which identified the land as public open space, was an amendment to the town planning scheme that injuriously affected their land. The City of Wanneroo contended that the identification of the land as public open space did not amount to an amendment of the town planning scheme and therefore did not trigger the requirement for compensation. The Court had to determine whether the adoption of the Structure Plan constituted an amendment of the town planning scheme and, if so, whether this amendment had injuriously affected the respondents' land.

The Court found that the adoption of the Structure Plan did not constitute an amendment of the town planning scheme. The Court held that the Structure Plan was a separate document from the town planning scheme and did not have the effect of amending the scheme. The Court further held that the identification of the land as public open space in the Structure Plan did not injuriously affect the respondents' land. The Court found that the prohibition on development of the land, unless it was for a public purpose, did not amount to an injurious affection of the land. The Court held that the respondents were not entitled to compensation under the Planning and Development Act 1928 (WA).

The Supreme Court of Western Australia granted the City of Wanneroo's application and determined that the respondents' land was not injuriously affected by the planning scheme. The Court's decision turned on its interpretation of the Planning and Development Act 1928 (WA) and its conclusion that the adoption of the Structure Plan did not amount to an amendment of the town planning scheme. The Court's decision has important implications for the interpretation of the Planning and Development Act 1928 (WA) and the rights of landowners when their land is identified as public open space in a Structure Plan.