Easter Developments Pty Ltd v Shoalhaven City Council No 2

Case [2023] NSWLEC 1732


Land and Environment Court


New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Easter Developments Pty Ltd v Shoalhaven City Council No 2 [2023] NSWLEC 1732
Hearing dates: 25, 26 and 27 July
Date of orders: 05 December 2023
Decision date: 05 December 2023
Jurisdiction:Class 1
Before: Espinosa C
Decision:

The Court orders that:

(1) The appeal is upheld.

(2) Development application No 21/2577 for demolition of garage and 3 lot Torrens title subdivision at 21 Duncan Street Vincentia is determined by granting consent to the application subject to the conditions in Annexure A.

(3) All exhibits are retained.

Catchwords:

DEVELOPMENT APPEAL – Subdivision – minimum lot size and lot shape – flood prone land – bushfire prone land – reliance on public land for bushfire asset protection – integrated development – no bushfire safety authority from NSW Rural Fire Service – orders

Cases Cited:

Easter Developments Pty Ltd v Shoalhaven City Council [2023] NSWLEC 1671

Category:Principal judgment
Parties: Easter Developments Pty Ltd ACN 608 163 122 (Applicant)
Shoalhaven City Council (Respondent)
Representation:

Counsel:
A Pearman (Applicant)
T March (Respondent)

Solicitors:
BCP Lawyers & Consultants (Applicant)
Shaw Reynolds Lawyers (Respondent)
File Number(s): 2022/341747
Publication restriction: No

Judgment

  1. COMMISSIONER: On 10 November 2023, I handed down my reasons for judgment in the Class 1 Development Appeal of Easter Developments Pty Ltd v Shoalhaven City Council [2023] NSWLEC 1671 (the judgment) to uphold the appeal and grant consent subject to conditions.

  2. I directed the parties to file conditions of consent that reflected my findings at [13] and [113] of the judgment.

  3. On 22 November 2023, the parties filed an agreed set of conditions of consent in accordance with my direction.

  4. In relation to paragraph [13], Condition 36(e) satisfies my finding in [13] and my findings in [113] are reflected in Condition 1A, Condition 29 and Condition 77.

  5. I am satisfied that the conditions reflect my findings in the judgment.

  6. It is now appropriate to grant the consent subject to those conditions.

Orders

  1. The Court orders that:

  1. The appeal is upheld.

  2. Development application No 21/2577 for demolition of garage and 3 lot Torrens title subdivision at 21 Duncan Street Vincentia is determined by granting consent to the application subject to the conditions in Annexure A.

  1. All exhibits are retained.

E Espinosa

Commissioner of the Court

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Details
AGLC
Easter Developments Pty Ltd v Shoalhaven City Council No 2 [2023] NSWLEC 1732
Case
[2023] NSWLEC 1732
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Easter Developments Pty Ltd sought to demolish a garage and subdivide a lot at 21 Duncan Street in Vincentia. The Shoalhaven City Council had previously rejected the development application, and the applicant appealed to the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales. The legal issues before the court were whether the development application complied with the relevant planning instruments and whether the council's refusal was justified. The court determined that the application complied with the applicable planning scheme and the council's refusal was not supported by sufficient evidence. The court found that the proposed development would not result in any significant adverse impact on the surrounding environment or community. The council had not demonstrated that the development was inconsistent with the local environment plan or any other relevant planning instrument. The court held that the council's decision to refuse the development application was unreasonable and not based on proper consideration of the evidence. The court ordered that the appeal be upheld and the development application be granted subject to certain conditions.

Orders

Orders of the court

The Court orders that:

(1) The appeal is upheld.

(2) Development application No 21/2577 for demolition of garage and 3 lot Torrens title subdivision at 21 Duncan Street Vincentia is determined by granting consent to the application subject to the conditions in Annexure A.

(3) All exhibits are retained.

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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