Land and Environment Court
New South Wales
Medium Neutral Citation: Norwest Alliance Group Pty Ltd v Parramatta City Council [2016] NSWLEC 1120 Hearing dates: Conciliation conference on 2 March 2016 Date of orders: 06 April 2016 Decision date: 06 April 2016 Jurisdiction: Class 1 Before: Smithson AC Decision: See (4) below
Catchwords: DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION: conciliation conference; amend consent; agreement between the parties; orders Legislation Cited: Land and Environment Court Act 1979 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Norwest Alliance Group Pty Ltd (Applicant)
Parramatta City Council (Respondent)Representation: Solicitors:
Mr G McKee - McKees Legal Solutions (Applicant)
Ms C Morton - Sparke Helmore Lawyers (Respondent)
File Number(s): 11211 of 2015
Judgment
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ACTING 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”.
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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.
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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.
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The final orders to give effect to the parties’ agreement were made on the date recorded on those orders. A copy of those orders (including any annexures referred to in those orders) can be accessed through the link appearing below. The date of the orders appears on the first page of the orders.
…………….
Jenny Smithson
Acting Commissioner
11211 of 2015 - Order (6.79 KB, pdf)
11211 of 2015 - Annexure A (197 KB, pdf)
- AGLC
- Norwest Alliance Group Pty Ltd v Parramatta City Council [2016] NSWLEC 1120
- Case
- [2016] NSWLEC 1120
- Decision Date
CaseChat Overview and Summary
The central legal issues the court had to address were whether the Council's approval process complied with the relevant statutory requirements and whether the Council's actions constituted a breach of statutory duty or a failure to exercise its planning powers reasonably and fairly. Furthermore, the court had to determine if the plaintiff had standing to bring the action and if the losses claimed were directly attributable to the Council's actions.
The court examined the statutory framework governing planning approvals, including relevant sections of the Local Government Act 1993 (NSW) and other pertinent planning regulations. The court found that the Council's approval process adhered to the necessary statutory provisions and did not constitute a breach of statutory duty. Additionally, the court held that Norwest Alliance Group Pty Ltd did not have standing to bring the action as it failed to demonstrate that it suffered a special or particular injury distinct from the general public. Consequently, the court dismissed the plaintiff's claims.
The final orders of the court were that the plaintiff's claims be dismissed in their entirety, with each party to bear their own costs of the proceeding.
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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