Evans v. Lockyer Valley Regional Council

[2009] QPEC 76

[2009] QPEC 76

PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT COURT

JUDGE ROBIN QC

P & E Appeal No 615 of 2009
P & E Appeal No 616 of 2009

BRYAN ANDREW EVANS	Appellant
and
LOCKYER VALLEY REGIONAL COUNCIL	Respondent

BRISBANE

..DATE 06/08/2009

ORDER

CATCHWORDS:  Appeals against enforcement orders removed from callover where Council proposed to avoid issue of the correctness of its process by bringing a new application for determination of the lawfulness of the impugned use

HIS HONOUR:  I'm removing the appeals from the callover and vacating the existing directions accordingly. 

...

HIS HONOUR:  I vacate existing directions except for paragraph 7 of the orders of 18th of June 2009.  The appeals are adjourned to the 14th of August 2009 for mention along with the new application returnable then which has been foreshadowed by the Council. 

In light of the approach taken in an earlier matter on today's list of CPT Manager Limited some explanation might be called for for the Court's willingness to see these matters removed from the Callover.  In the other matter mentioned three of the four parties, that is all of them except for the commercial rival of the developer, were anxious to preserve the earlier date which it seemed possible to preserve if things turned out well. 

In this instance the respondent Council is moving the goal posts, in a sense; it intends trying, by an application which it foreshadowed would be filed and returnable on Friday of next week, to avoid issues regarding the correctness of its process by raising directly for determination the lawfulness of activities which are allegedly being conducted and have been described loosely as a junk yard.  In those circumstances Mr Evans and his representatives ought to have a reasonable opportunity to confront the case the Council wishes to make which indeed remains to be formulated.

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