Thiessen Architects v Willoughby City Council

Land and Environment Court

of New South Wales

CITATION:	Thiessen Architects v Willoughby City Council [2007] NSWLEC 494
PARTIES:	APPLICANT Thiessen Architects Pty Ltd RESPONDENT Willoughby City Council
FILE NUMBER(S):	10305 of 2007
CORAM:	Brown C
KEY ISSUES:	Development Application :- alterations and additions to an existing industrial building - height, bulk, scale - conflict with objectives - excessive car parking
LEGISLATION CITED:	Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 Willoughby Local Environmental Plan 1995
DATES OF HEARING:	12, 13/07/07
DATE OF JUDGMENT:	10 August 2007
LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES:	APPLICANT Mr P McEwen SC with Mr M Staunton, barrister SOLICITORS Bartier Perry RESPONDENT Mr M Craig QC SOLICITORS Mallesons Stephen Jaques

JUDGMENT:

THE LAND AND
ENVIRONMENT COURT
OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Brown C

10 August 2007

10303 of 2007 Thiessen Architects Pty Ltd v Willoughby City Council

JUDGMENT

1 COMMISSIONER: This is an appeal against the refusal of Development Application 2006/896 by Willoughby City Council (the council) for alterations and additions to an existing industrial building at 356A – 360 Eastern Valley Way, East Chatswood (the site).

The site and surrounding area

2 The site is Lot 1 in DP 1076020. It is rectangular in shape with a frontage of 55.45 m to Eastern Valley Way, side boundaries of 127 m to 128 m and a site area of 6750 sq m.

3 The site contains a multi-use industrial building of two and three storey construction with external and undercover car parking. The site has a fall of some 7 m from the rear to the street frontage.

4 The area is characterised by buildings accommodating light industrial uses and other users such as a church, gymnasium and service station. Open space and public recreation facilities are located on the opposite side of Eastern Valley Way.

The proposal

5 The proposal provides for alterations and additions to the existing industrial building. The development application describes the proposal as providing 9433.1 sq m of floor area being made up of:

• 6657.3 sq m of factory floor area,
• 1200.8 sq m of showroom floor area, and
• 1575 sq m of office floor area.

6 Units 5 and 6 in Building 3 at the rear of the site are to remain unchanged. Building 2 (the central building) is to maintain its original external form but with the construction of a new suspended slab internal to the building. The area will contain industrial floor space and car parking. The existing basement car parking is to be retained in Building 2.

7 Building 1 is located at the Eastern Valley Way frontage. The new suspended slab from Building 2 is to be continued into Building 1 and will contain industrial floor space and car parking, as will as will the existing slab that extends from Building 2 into Building 1. A further 5 levels (Levels 4 – 8) of floor space are to be constructed above Building 1 with an increased setback from Eastern Valley Way. A plant room is located on a further level but is…