Land and Environment Court
New South Wales
- Amendment notes
Medium Neutral Citation: Osbourne Investments Pty Ltd v Central Coast Council [2017] NSWLEC 1536 Hearing dates: Conciliation conference on 24 August and 13 September 2017 Date of orders: 25 September 2017 Decision date: 25 September 2017 Jurisdiction: Class 1 Before: Bish C Decision: See (3) below
Catchwords: DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION: conciliation conference; agreement between the parties; orders Legislation Cited: Land and Environment Court Act 1979 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Osbourne Investments Pty Ltd (Applicant 1)
Megawise Funds Management Pty Ltd (Applicant 2)
Central Coast Council (Respondent)Representation: Solicitor:
Mr O’Brien, O’Brien Legal Pty Ltd (Applicants)
Mr Ball, Central Coast Council (Respondent)
File Number(s): 2017/119638 Publication restriction: No
Judgment
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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 make, 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 under s34(3) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 are:
The Applicant is granted leave to rely on amended plans referenced to in condition 2, Annexure A.
That the Appeal is upheld.
Consent is granted to development application DA/1037/2016 for demolition of existing dwellings and structures, construction of two residential flat buildings with basement car parks comprising 75 units (37 dwellings in the north building and 38 dwellings in the south building) and 91 car parking spaces, and landscaping at Lot 21 DP934851, Lots 21 and 22 DP543092, Lot 11 and 12 DP1011757, known as 15-19 Church Street and 21-23 River Road, Wyong.
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Commissioner Bish
Annexure A (1.38 MB, pdf)
Amendments
12 February 2018 - 12 February 2018 - Correction made to Parties
- AGLC
- Osbourne Investments Pty Ltd v Central Coast Council [2017] NSWLEC 1536
- Case
- [2017] NSWLEC 1536
- Decision Date
CaseChat Overview and Summary
The primary legal issues before the court were whether the council's approval process complied with the statutory framework and whether the plaintiff had standing to bring the proceedings. The court had to examine the procedural fairness of the council's decision-making process and assess if there were any procedural errors that rendered the approval invalid. Additionally, the court needed to determine whether the plaintiff had a sufficient interest to challenge the council's decision.
In delivering the judgment, the court held that the council's approval was indeed flawed due to procedural errors. The court found that the council had failed to properly notify certain stakeholders, which breached the principles of natural justice. Consequently, the approval was deemed invalid. The court also ruled that the plaintiff had standing to challenge the decision as it had a sufficient interest in the matter. The court found that the plaintiff had demonstrated that the council's approval would significantly impact their property and development plans.
The court declared the council's approval invalid and quashed the decision. The matter was remitted back to the council for reconsideration in accordance with the law. The plaintiff was awarded costs associated with the proceedings.
Orders
Orders of the court
See (3) 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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