De Angelis v Pepping

The appellant, De Angelis, appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a decision of Adamson AJ in the Land and Environment Court. The dispute concerned the validity of amendments to the Wingecarribee Local Environmental Plan 2010 (Amendment No 13), which the appellant alleged were invalid due to non-compliance with statutory consultation requirements and a denial of procedural fairness.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the community consultation requirements stipulated by the *Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979* (NSW) had been adequately satisfied in relation to the planning proposal, and if not, whether such non-compliance rendered the amending LEP invalid. Further questions arose regarding whether the appellant had received sufficient notice of the planning proposal and whether a council officer possessed the authority to make the LEP as an agent of the council, thereby impacting the appellant's right to procedural fairness.

The Court of Appeal found that the community consultation requirements had not been met, and that this failure led to the invalidity of the amending LEP. The Court reasoned that the procedural defects were significant enough to vitiate the process. Consequently, the appeal was allowed, the previous orders were set aside, and a declaration was made that the Wingecarribee Local Environmental Plan 2010 (Amendment No 13) was invalid and of no effect. The Council was ordered to pay fifty per cent of the appellant's costs in both the Land and Environment Court and the appeal proceedings.