Krisgay Pty Ltd v Valuer-General - [2007] NSWLEC 600

Reported Decision: Notice of Appeal filed 18/01/2008
159 LGERA 29

Land and Environment Court

of New South Wales

CITATION: Krisgay Pty Limited v The Valuer-General [2007] NSWLEC 600
This decision has been amended. Please see the end of the judgment for a list of the amendments.

PARTIES:
APPLICANT:
Krisgay Pty Limited
ACN 003 519 417
RESPONDENT:
Valuer General

FILE NUMBER(S): 30412 of 2006

CORAM: Biscoe J

KEY ISSUES: Valuation of Land :- construction of definition of “heritage valuation” in s 123 Heritage Act 1977 (NSW) – method of assessing heritage valuation – method of assessing land value – method of assessing heritage allowance

LEGISLATION CITED: Heritage Act 1977 ss 123, 124, 125, 126, 127
Valuation of Land Act 1916 ss 6A, 14G, 34(1)(a), 37, 40(2)

CASES CITED: AMP Henderson Global Investors v Valuer-General (2004) 134 LGERA 426;
Australian Mutual Provident Society v Overseas Telecommunications Commission Australia [1972] 2 NSWLR 806;
Commissioner for ACT Revenue v Rosnet Pty Ltd (1994) 83 LGERA 440;
Commonwealth Custodial Services Ltd v Valuer-General of New South Wales [2006] NSWLEC 775;
Commonwealth Custodial Services Pty Ltd v Valuer-General (NSW) (2006) 148 LGERA 38;
James v Valuer-General (1942) 15 LGR (NSW) 110;
Maurici v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue (2003) 212 CLR 111;
McCathie v Federal Commissioner of Taxation (1944) 69 CLR 1;
Myer (SA) Stores Ltd v Valuer-General (1986) 60 LGRA 158;
Toohey’s Ltd v Valuer-General [1925] AC 439;
Trust Company of Australia Ltd v Valuer General [2007] NSWCA 181;
Valuer-General v Fenton Nominees Pty Ltd (1982) 150 CLR 160

DATES OF HEARING: 3, 4 and 16 July 2007

DATE OF JUDGMENT:
21 September 2007

LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES: APPLICANT:
Mr J J Webster SC and Mr I J Hemmings, barrister
SOLICITORS:
Leitch Hasson Dent

RESPONDENT:
Mr J B Maston, barrister
SOLICITORS:
Crown Solicitors Office

JUDGMENT:

THE LAND AND
ENVIRONMENT COURT
OF NEW SOUTH WALES

BISCOE J

21 September 2007

30412 of 2006

KRISGAY PTY LIMITED v THE VALUER GENERAL

introduction

1 HIS HONOUR: The main issue in this appeal is the proper construction of the definition of “heritage valuation” in s 123 of the Heritage Act 1977 (NSW). The appeal is against the Valuer-General’s assessment of the land value and the heritage valuation at the base date of 1 July 2003 in relation to land at 240 Princes Highway known as the Bulli Heritage Hotel.

2 The property was listed on the State Heritage Register. Consequently, Part 6 Division 6 of the Heritage Act applied which required the Valuer-General to make or cause to be made a heritage valuation.

3 The statutory valuations for the base date originally issued by the Valuer-General assigned a “land value”, as defined in s 6A of the Valuation of Land Act1916 (V of L Act), of $1,030,000; and a “heritage valuation”, as defined in s 123 of the Heritage Act, of $930,000. The applicant objected on the ground specified in s 34(1)(a) of…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Keep reading for free

Create a free CaseChat account to read Krisgay Pty Ltd v Valuer-General and more:

Read every judgment in full
Ask AI and get answers linked to paragraphs
See how each paragraph was cited in later cases
Download judgments as PDF or Word

Continue with Google

One click creates your free account or signs you in.

By continuing you agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy.

Details

Case: [2007] NSWLEC 600
Decision Date: 21 September 2007

CaseChat Overview and Summary

This case involves an appeal against the Valuer-General’s assessment of the land value and the heritage valuation of land at 240 Princes Highway, known as the Bulli Heritage Hotel. The key issue was the proper construction of the definition of “heritage valuation” in s 123 of the Heritage Act 1978 (NSW). The applicant, Krisgay Pty Ltd, objected to the Valuer-General’s assessment, arguing that the land value and heritage valuation were too high. The applicant’s valuer, Mr Drew Roberts, proposed three scenarios for calculating the heritage valuation, while the respondent’s valuer, Mr Rodger Wall, adopted a different approach. The court had to determine which, if any, of the competing valuation approaches were permissible under the relevant legislation. The court found that the applicant’s scenarios were not consistent with the statutory requirements and rejected them. The court accepted the respondent’s valuer’s approach, but considered the heritage allowance of 30 percent to be too low. The court concluded that the heritage allowance should be reasonably assessed at 40 percent of the land value, resulting in a land value of $900,000 and a heritage valuation of $540,000. The appeal was upheld, and the land value and the heritage valuation of the subject property at the base date of 1 July 2003 were determined in the sums of, respectively, $900,000 and $540,000.

Orders