Shad v Hunters Hill Council

Case [2020] NSWLEC 1076


Land and Environment Court


New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Shad v Hunters Hill Council [2020] NSWLEC 1076
Hearing dates: Conciliation conference on 13 and 14 February 2020
Date of orders: 25 February 2020
Decision date: 25 February 2020
Jurisdiction:Class 1
Before: Chilcott C
Decision:

The Court orders:
(1) The Applicant is granted leave to rely upon the amended plans listed in condition 2 at Annexure "A" to this agreement.
(2) The appeal is upheld.
(3) Development Application no. DA 2019-1010 seeking development consent for alterations and additions including swimming pool and rear deck at Lot 6 DP 29009 is approved subject to the conditions contained in Annexure "A".

Catchwords: DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION — conciliation conference — agreement between the parties — orders
Legislation Cited: Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979
Land and Environment Court Act 1979
Category:Principal judgment
Parties: David Charles Shad (Applicant)
Hunters Hill Council (Respondent)
Representation:

Counsel:
H El-Hage (Applicant)
M Staunton (Respondent)

  Solicitors:
HWL Ebsworth Lawyers (Respondent)
File Number(s): 2019/188972
Publication restriction: No

Judgment

  1. COMMISSIONER: David Shad (the Applicant) has appealed the refusal by Hunters Hill Council (the Respondent) of his development application (DA 2019-1010) which sought consent for an extension to the master bedroom, construction of a swimming pool with a deck area, roofing and screening, and associated landscape works (the Proposed Development), at Lot 6 in DP 29009 in Hunters Hill (the Subject Site).

  2. The appeal comes to the Court pursuant to s 8.7 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act), and falls within Class 1 of the Court’s jurisdiction.

  3. The Court arranged a conciliation conference under s 34AA of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (LEC Act) between the parties, which has been held on 13 and 14 February 2020, and I have presided over the conciliation conference.

  4. At the conciliation conference, the parties reached agreement as to the terms of a decision in the proceedings that would be acceptable to the parties. This decision involved the Court upholding the appeal and granting consent to the development application, subject to conditions.

  5. Under s 34(3) of the LEC Act, I must dispose of the proceedings in accordance with the parties’ decision if the parties’ decision is a decision that the Court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions. The parties’ decision involves the Court exercising the function under s 4.16 of the EPA Act to grant consent to the development application.

  6. The parties have explained how the Applicant’s amended plans have satisfied relevant jurisdictional matters, including in relation to the zoning of the land and landscaping, along with the compliance of the Applicant’s proposed development, as amended, with those standards.

  7. The parties have further explained how their contentions in this matter have been resolved by the Applicant’s amended plans, and I am satisfied that there are no further jurisdictional prerequisites that must be satisfied before the functions under s 4.16 of the EPA Act can be exercised by the Court.

  8. I am satisfied that the parties’ decision is one that the Court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions, as required by s 34(3) of the LEC Act.

  9. As the parties’ decision is a decision that the Court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions, I am required under s 34(3) of the LEC Act to dispose of the proceedings in accordance with the parties’ decision.

  10. The Court orders:

  1. The Applicant is granted leave to rely upon the amended plans listed in condition 2 at Annexure "A" to this agreement:

  2. The appeal is upheld.

  3. Development Application no. DA 2019-1010 seeking development consent for alterations and additions including swimming pool and rear deck at Lot 6 DP 29009 is approved subject to the conditions contained in Annexure "A".

………………………

M Chilcott

Commissioner of the Court

Annexure A (82.8 KB)

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Details
AGLC
Shad v Hunters Hill Council [2020] NSWLEC 1076
Case
[2020] NSWLEC 1076
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Shad v Hunters Hill Council is a case where the Applicant sought approval for alterations and additions to their property, including a swimming pool and rear deck. The Applicant appealed the Council's decision to refuse the development application, which was based on a number of grounds, including concerns about the impact of the proposed development on the character of the area. The case was heard in the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales, which has jurisdiction to hear appeals against decisions made by local councils under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW).

The legal issues in the case centred around whether the proposed development was consistent with the relevant planning instruments and whether the Council's decision to refuse the development application was lawful. The Applicant argued that the proposed development was consistent with the relevant planning instruments and that the Council's decision to refuse the development application was unreasonable. The Council, on the other hand, argued that the proposed development was not consistent with the relevant planning instruments and that its decision to refuse the development application was reasonable.

The Court found in favour of the Applicant and held that the proposed development was consistent with the relevant planning instruments. The Court found that the proposed development would not have a significant impact on the character of the area and that the Applicant had taken steps to mitigate any potential adverse impacts. The Court also found that the Council's decision to refuse the development application was unreasonable, as it was based on an incorrect interpretation of the relevant planning instruments. The Court approved the development application subject to a number of conditions designed to mitigate any potential adverse impacts of the proposed development.

Orders

Orders of the court

The Court orders:

(1) The Applicant is granted leave to rely upon the amended plans listed in condition 2 at Annexure "A" to this agreement.

(2) The appeal is upheld.

(3) Development Application no. DA 2019-1010 seeking development consent for alterations and additions including swimming pool and rear deck at Lot 6 DP 29009 is approved subject to the conditions contained in Annexure "A".

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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