Cranbrook School v Woollahra Municipal Council

The appeal concerned a dispute between Cranbrook School (the appellant) and Woollahra Municipal Council (the respondent) regarding the classification of proposed school buildings and associated facilities. The Land and Environment Court had previously made orders on 14 December 2005, which the appellant sought to set aside. The core of the disagreement lay in whether the proposed development constituted a "community facility" as defined by the Woollahra Local Environmental Plan 1995 (LEP).

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was the proper interpretation of the term "community facility" within the context of the Woollahra LEP 1995. This required the court to consider the function of definition clauses in local environmental plans and how they should be applied to proposed developments, particularly in relation to educational institutions.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, setting aside the previous orders of the Land and Environment Court. The court declared that the development proposed by Cranbrook School, which involved the erection of school buildings and associated facilities for the purpose of conducting the School, was permissible with consent under the Woollahra LEP 1995. This declaration was based on the court's interpretation that the development constituted a "community facility" within the meaning of the LEP. The respondent was ordered to pay the costs of the appeal.