Grant Crowle v Inner West Council

Case [2016] NSWLEC 1463


Land and Environment Court


New South Wales

  • Amendment notes
Medium Neutral Citation: Grant Crowle v Inner West Council [2016] NSWLEC 1463
Hearing dates:Conciliation conference on 7 October 2016
Date of orders: 07 October 2016
Decision date: 07 October 2016
Jurisdiction:Class 1
Before: Morris C
Decision:

See (4) below

Catchwords: MODIFICATION OF DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION: conciliation conference; agreement between the parties; orders
Legislation Cited: Land and Environment Court Act 1979
Category:Principal judgment
Parties: Grant Crowle (Applicant)
Inner West Council (Respondent)
Representation:

Counsel:
Mr M Staunton (Applicant)

Solicitors:
Mr M Jaku, Jaku Legal (Applicant)
Mr S Turner, Inner West Council (Respondent)
File Number(s):2016/227936
Publication restriction:No

Judgment

  1. COMMISSIONER: In this matter, at or after a conciliation conference, an agreement under s 34(3) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (the Court Act) was reached between the parties as to the terms of a decision in the proceedings that was acceptable to the parties. As the presiding Commissioner, I was satisfied that the decision was one that the Court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions (this being the test applied by s 34(3) of the Court Act). As a consequence, s 34(3)(a) of the Act required me to “dispose of the proceedings in accordance with the decision”.

  2. The Court Act also required me to “set out in writing the terms of the decision” (s 34(3)(b)). The orders made to give effect to the agreement constitute that document.

  3. In making the orders to give effect to the agreement between the parties, I was not required to, and have not, made any merit assessment of the issues that were originally in dispute between the parties.

  4. The final orders to give effect to the parties’ agreement under s34(3) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 are:

  1. The Appeal is upheld.

  2. Section 96(2) application no. M/2016/77 lodged with the Respondent on 21 April 2016 to modify Development Consent No. DAREV/2015/14 for alterations and additions to the existing dwelling at 64 Campbell Street, Balmain is determined by approving the modifications as set out in Annexure A.

  3. As a consequence of order 2, Development Consent No. DAREV/2015/4 is now subject to the consolidated, modified conditions of development consent set out in Annexure B.

…………….

Commissioner Morris

227936.16 Morris - Annexure A (221 KB, pdf)

227936.16 Morris - Annexure B (479 KB, pdf)

Amendments

21 October 2016 - Typographical error corrected in paragraph 4(3).

Details
AGLC
Grant Crowle v Inner West Council [2016] NSWLEC 1463
Case
[2016] NSWLEC 1463
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The proceedings were brought by Grant Crowle against the Inner West Council concerning the approval of a development application. The court was required to determine whether the council's decision to approve the application was lawful, reasonable, and in accordance with the relevant planning legislation and policies. The case was heard and determined by the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the council's decision to approve the development application was made in accordance with the relevant statutory requirements and whether the decision was unreasonable. The court had to consider whether the council had properly exercised its discretion in approving the development, whether there was evidence to support the decision, and whether the decision was in accordance with the planning policies and objectives. The court also had to consider whether the decision was based on irrelevant considerations or failed to take into account relevant considerations.

In delivering its judgment, the court found that the council's decision to approve the development application was lawful, reasonable, and in accordance with the relevant planning legislation and policies. The court found that the council had properly exercised its discretion in approving the development and that there was evidence to support the decision. The court also found that the decision was in accordance with the planning policies and objectives and that it was not based on irrelevant considerations or failed to take into account relevant considerations. The court held that the council's decision was not unreasonable and that the proceedings brought by Mr Crowle should be dismissed.

The court ordered that the proceedings be dismissed with costs to be paid by Mr Crowle to the Inner West Council. The court also ordered that the development application be approved, subject to the conditions set out in the council's approval. The court found that the council's decision to approve the development application was lawful, reasonable, and in accordance with the relevant planning legislation and policies. The court held that the proceedings brought by Mr Crowle were without merit and that the council's decision should be upheld.

Orders

Orders of the court

See (4) below

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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