Cowie & Pearson v Chief Executive, Department of Natural Resources

Rae MH Cowie and Gwendoline I Pearson sought to appeal the valuation of their property at 50 The Esplanade, Lammermoor, determined by the Chief Executive of the Department of Natural Resources. The Chief Executive had assessed the unimproved value of the property at $93,000, which the appellants contested, arguing that the value should be $75,000. The central issues revolved around the nature of the land, the impact of access to the beach, and the comparability of sales in the area. The court needed to determine whether the Chief Executive's valuation was accurate and whether the appellants' appeal was justified.

The court found that both valuers used a suitable method of comparing vacant lands to determine the unimproved value. The court also concluded that while factors such as the lack of sewerage and the shape of the land could influence a purchaser, these were already considered when establishing relativity in the area. Regarding relativity and market changes, the court accepted that the market remained relatively stable and that the evidence did not demonstrate a serious error or wrong principle in the Chief Executive's valuation. The court found that the influence of beach access for the subject land was more closely aligned with the advantages sought by purchasers in the respondent's sales. Although the appellants had argued that certain sales were not representative of the general market level, the court believed that the sales supported the Chief Executive's conclusion.

After weighing all the evidence, the court was not persuaded that the appellants had proved their case. The appeal was dismissed, and the Chief Executive's valuation of $93,000 for Lot 2 on RP 615103 was affirmed.