Sneesby v Brisbane City Council

[2011] QPEC 122

[2011] QPEC 122

PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT COURT

JUDGE ROBIN QC

P & E Appeal No 117 of 2011

DAVID SNEESBY	Appellants
and
BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL
and
THOMAS BAXTER	Respondents

BRISBANE

..DATE 08/09/2011

ORDER

CATCHWORDS

Integrated Planning Act 1997 Schedule 10

Definition of "business day" - whether submitter appeal in time - developer's contention to contrary effect overlooked exclusion of days between Boxing Day and New Year's Day
HIS HONOUR:  In this matter the court directs a case management conference which is to be without prejudice and conducted with the assistance of the ADR Registrar by the 14th of next month.  It's been delayed so that the appellant's expert, Mr Brannock, will be available in the meantime to advise Mr Sneesby.

It's been possible to resolve this morning the difficulty that stood in the way of progress of the appeal and occasioned its listing at the instigation of the Registrar. Mr Baxter, the co-respondent developer, was of the view that the appeal had been instituted late. However, the brief inquiry into that issue this morning reveals that that is attributable to a common misunderstanding that “business day” for purposes of calculation of the appeal period includes ordinary business days. In fact, looking at the definition in schedule 10 of the Integrated Planning Act 1997 it doesn't include any day between Boxing Day and the following New Years Day. On that basis it's clear Mr Sneesby was comfortably in time.

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