The Council of the Shire of Eurobodalla v Friend and Brooker Pty Ltd

The Council of the Shire of Eurobodalla (the Council) appealed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal against a decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute concerned the validity of a development consent granted by the Council to Friend and Brooker Pty Ltd (the developer) for the construction of a shopping centre. The Council sought to revoke this consent, alleging it was invalidly granted due to a failure to comply with certain procedural requirements of the relevant planning legislation.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the development consent granted by the Council was rendered void *ab initio* due to alleged procedural irregularities in its approval process. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the Council had adequately considered the submissions made by objectors and if the consent was granted in accordance with the requirements of the *Environmental Planning Assessment Act 1979* (NSW) and the relevant Local Environmental Plan.

The Court of Appeal found that while there may have been some procedural shortcomings, these did not go to the root of the Council's power to grant the consent. The Court applied the principle that a failure to comply with procedural requirements will only render a decision invalid if the requirement is mandatory and goes to the substance of the power conferred. In this instance, the Court held that the Council had substantially complied with the legislative requirements and that the consent was therefore validly granted. The appeal was dismissed.