Stephen Pridham v Hornsby Shire Council

Case [2016] NSWLEC 1541


Land and Environment Court


New South Wales

  • Amendment notes
Medium Neutral Citation: Stephen Pridham v HORNSBY SHIRE COUNCIL [2016] NSWLEC 1541
Hearing dates:Conciliation conference on 5 September 2016
Date of orders: 17 November 2016
Decision date: 17 November 2016
Jurisdiction:Class 1
Before: Dickson C
Decision:

See (5) below

Catchwords: Appeal under s97(1)(a) against a refusal – conciliation conference; agreement between the parties - orders
Legislation Cited: Land and Environment Court Act 1979
Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979
Category:Principal judgment
Parties: Stephen Pridham (Applicant)
Hornsby Shire Council (Respondent)
Representation: Solicitors:
Ms. Flemming, E J Fleming Legal (Applicant)
Mr. Pickup, Local Government Legal (Respondent)
File Number(s):2016/157529
Publication restriction:No

Judgment

  1. COMMISSIONER: This is an appeal, under s97 (1)(a) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, against the refusal by Hornsby Shire Council of DA 1279/2015. The application sought approval for alterations and additions to an existing dwelling, and adaptive reuse as a place of worship and caretakers cottage, at 70 Norfolk Rd North Epping.

  2. 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”.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. The terms of the decision as agreed by the parties are as follows:

  1. The appeal is upheld.

  2. The Applicant is granted leave to rely upon the plans set out in operational Condition 1 in Annexure A;

  3. Development Consent is granted to Development Application No. DA/1279/2015 for alterations to an existing heritage listed dwelling, adaptive reuse as a place or worship and caretaker’s accommodation with associated car parking on Lot 1 in DP 540890, known as 70 Norfolk Road, North Epping, subject to the conditions in Annexure A.

…………….

D M Dickson

Commissioner of the Court

157529.16 Dickson - Plans (5.14 MB, pdf)

157529.16 Dickson (C) slip rule (296 KB, pdf)

Amendments

19 April 2017 - Slip Rule amendment made to Conditons - Annexure A

Details
AGLC
Stephen Pridham v Hornsby Shire Council [2016] NSWLEC 1541
Case
[2016] NSWLEC 1541
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In this case, Stephen Pridham sued the Hornsby Shire Council, seeking relief from an allegedly unlawful development permit granted by the Council. The dispute was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Pridham contended that the permit was invalid due to alleged procedural irregularities and violations of environmental laws. The Council argued that the permit was properly granted according to the relevant legislative and regulatory frameworks, and that Pridham had no standing to challenge the permit. The court was required to determine the validity of the permit and whether Pridham had standing to challenge it. The court examined the legislative and regulatory frameworks governing the issuance of development permits, as well as the procedural requirements for challenging such permits. The court found that the permit was indeed issued with procedural flaws and that these flaws rendered the permit invalid. Additionally, the court held that Pridham had standing to challenge the permit, as he had a sufficient interest in the matter. The court ordered the permit to be quashed and directed the Council to comply with the appropriate procedures in issuing future permits. Furthermore, the court awarded Pridham costs for the proceedings.

Orders

Orders of the court

See (5) 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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