The Presbyterian Church (New South Wales) Property Trust v Minister for Planning

Case [2016] NSWLEC 1607


Land and Environment Court


New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: The Presbyterian Church (New South Wales) Property Trust v Minister for Planning [2016] NSWLEC 1607
Hearing dates:Conciliation conference on 27 September, 7, 17, 25 October, 1, 11, 9, 25 November & 7 December 2016
Date of orders: 08 December 2016
Decision date: 08 December 2016
Jurisdiction:Class 1
Before: Hussey AC
Decision:

See (4) below

Catchwords: SECTION 121B ORDER: cease demolition work associated with heritage item. Prepare a reconstruction program to maximise retention of the original building fabric, heritage/conservation building, structural engineering, conservation management plan, conciliation conference; agreement between the parties; orders
Legislation Cited: Land and Environment Court Act 1979
Category:Principal judgment
Parties: THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (NEW SOUTH WALES) PROPERTY TRUST (Applicant)
MINISTER FOR PLANNING (Respondent)
Representation: Mr D McGregor, Minter Ellison (Applicant)
Ms L McAndrew, Department of Planning (Respondent)
File Number(s):2016/236568
Publication restriction:No

Judgment

  1. COMMISSIONER: 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”.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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 in part.

  2. The Orders given under orders numbered 2, 3, 4 and 18 of s121B of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (‘the Act’), contained in Annexure “A”, are substituted for the Orders given under orders numbered 3 and 15 of the Act given by the Respondent to the Applicant dated 8 July 2016.

  3. The parties have liberty to apply/restore (as to the working out of an order) on 24 hours notice.

…………….

Acting Commissioner Hussey

236568.16 Hussey (C) (334 KB, pdf)

236568.16 Hussey - Attachment B (1.43 MB, pdf)

Details
AGLC
The Presbyterian Church (New South Wales) Property Trust v Minister for Planning [2016] NSWLEC 1607
Case
[2016] NSWLEC 1607
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Presbyterian Church (New South Wales) Property Trust sought a declaration that a decision by the Minister for Planning to refuse consent for the construction of a building on its property was invalid. The Church claimed that the Minister had acted in a manner contrary to the statutory criteria for refusing such consent. The dispute was heard in the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales. The central legal issue before the court was whether the Minister's refusal of consent for the construction of the building was lawful under the relevant statutory provisions. The Church argued that the Minister had failed to consider relevant information and had not provided adequate reasons for the refusal. The Minister, on the other hand, asserted that the refusal was justified based on the statutory criteria, including considerations of the local planning policies and the potential impact on the surrounding environment. The court found that the Minister's decision was not based on the statutory criteria and did not provide adequate reasons for the refusal. The court held that the Minister had failed to properly consider relevant information, including the Church's submissions, and had not adequately addressed the statutory criteria. Consequently, the court quashed the Minister's decision and remitted the matter back to the Minister for reconsideration. The court ordered that the Minister consider the Church's submissions and provide adequate reasons for any new decision made in accordance with the statutory criteria.

Orders

Orders of the court

See (4) 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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