Terra Ag Services Pty Ltd v Griffith City Council

[2018] NSWLEC 1225

Land and Environment Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:	Terra Ag Services Pty Ltd v Griffith City Council [2018] NSWLEC 1225
Hearing dates:	Conciliation conference on 11 May 2018
Date of orders:	11 May 2018
Decision date:	11 May 2018
Jurisdiction:	Class 1
Before:	Gray C
Decision:	See [5] below
Catchwords:	DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION – rural supplies business - matter remitted on appeal - conciliation conference - agreement between the parties - orders
Legislation Cited:	Land and Environment Court Act 1979
Category:	Principal judgment
Parties:	Terra Ag Services Pty Ltd (Applicant) Griffith City Council (Respondent)
Representation:	Solicitor: N Vergotis, McCabes Lawyers (Applicant) R McCulloch, Pikes & Verekers Lawyers (Respondent)
File Number(s):	2016/233562
Publication restriction:	No

Judgment

1. COMMISSIONER: This is an appeal against the refusal of development application 158/2015 submitted to Griffith City Council on 27 August 2015 for a rural supplies business at Lot 528 DP 751709, The Kidman Way, Griffith. The appeal was initially refused by the former Senior Commissioner on 6 July 2017, but that decision was subsequently set aside on appeal by Preston CJ in Terra Ag Services Pty Limited v Griffith City Council [2017] NSWLEC 167. The proceedings were remitted to be determined according to law.

2. Having been remitted, the proceedings were listed for a number of conciliation conferences. At a conciliation conference on 11 May 2018, 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 make, and have not made, any merit assessment of the issues that were originally in dispute between the parties.

5. The final orders to give effect to the parties’ agreement under s34(3) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 are:

1. The appeal is upheld.

2. Development consent is granted to development application no. 158/2015 for a rural supplies business including fertiliser storage shed and associated car parking and landscaping on land at Lot 528 DP 751709 Kidman Way, Griffith in accordance with the conditions in Annexure A hereto.

……………………….

Joanne Gray

Commissioner of the Court

Annexure A (320 KB, pdf)