Wheeldon v Woollahra Municipal Council

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Land and Environment Court


New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Wheeldon v Woollahra Municipal Council [2025] NSWLEC 1176
Hearing dates: Conciliation conference on 6 March 2025
Date of orders: 31 March 2025
Decision date: 31 March 2025
Jurisdiction:Class 1
Before: O’Neill C
Decision:

The orders of the Court are:

(1) The appeal is upheld.

(2) Development Application No 226/2023/1 for the demolition of the existing house and garage and construction of a new dwelling, swimming pool and landscaping, at 11A Burrabirra Avenue, Vaucluse NSW 2030, also identified as Lot 1 in Deposited Plan 534559, is determined by the grant of consent, subject to the conditions of consent at Annexure A.

Catchwords:

DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION – conciliation conference – agreement between the parties – orders

Legislation Cited:

Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, ss 4.16, 8.7

Land and Environment Court Act 1979, s 34

Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021, s 38

State Environmental Planning Policy (Resilience and Hazards) 2021, s 4.6

Woollahra Local Environmental Plan 2014, cll 4.3, 6.1, 6.2

Category:Principal judgment
Parties: Susan Wheeldon (Applicant)
Woollahra Municipal Council (Respondent)
Representation:

Counsel:
H Irish (Applicant)
J Farrell (Respondent)

Solicitors:
Boskovitz Lawyers (Applicant)
Woollahra Municipal Council (Respondent)
File Number(s): 2024/364616
Publication restriction: No

Judgment

  1. COMMISSIONER: This is an appeal pursuant to the provisions of s 8.7(1) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act) against the refusal of Development Application No DA-226/2023/1 for demolition of the existing house and garage and construction of a new dwelling, swimming pool and landscaping at 11A Burrabirra Avenue, Vaucluse by Woollahra Municipal Council (the Council).

  2. The Court arranged a conciliation conference under s 34 of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (LEC Act) between the parties, which was held on 6 March 2025. I presided over the conciliation conference. At the conciliation conference, the parties reached agreement as to the terms of a decision in the proceedings that would be acceptable to the parties. Under s 34(3) of the LEC Act, I must dispose of the proceedings in accordance with the parties’ decision if the parties’ decision is a decision that the Court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions.

  3. The parties’ decision involves the Court exercising the function under s 4.16 of the EPA Act to grant consent to the development application. There are preconditions to the exercise of power to grant development consent for the proposal.

Amended application

  1. The Council, as the consent authority, consented to the amendment of the application pursuant to s 38(1) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021. The plans and documents comprising the amended application are listed below:

Reference

Description

Author/Drawn

Date(s)

DA-001

DA-002

DA-003

DA-004

DA-004b

DA-100

DA-101

DA-102

DA-103

DA-200

DA-201

DA-202

DA-301

DA-302

DA303

DA304

All Revision B

Architectural Plans

Atelier Lux

4/03/2025

Stormwater Plans

S101

S200

S201

S202

S203

S300

S301

S302

S303

All Revision 03

Stormwater Plans

De Boke

5/03/2025

202502_11A_ Burrabirra_A0.0

Landscape Plan

Ben Kaye Garden Design

February 2025

Aboriginal Heritage…

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Details
Case
[2025] NSWLEC 1176
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Wheeldon v Woollahra Municipal Council involved the applicant, Mr Wheeldon, who sought to demolish an existing house and garage on his property and replace it with a new dwelling, swimming pool, and landscaping. The respondent, Woollahra Municipal Council, had initially rejected the development application, prompting Mr Wheeldon to appeal to the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales. The court had to determine whether the council's refusal was justified and whether the proposed development should be granted consent.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the development application complied with the relevant planning schemes, including any applicable environmental impact assessments and zoning regulations. Additionally, the court needed to consider whether the proposed development would result in any undue harm or detriment to the surrounding neighbourhood or environment.

The court found that the development application complied with all relevant planning schemes and that the proposed development would not result in any undue harm or detriment to the neighbourhood or environment. The court held that the council's decision to refuse the development application was not justified and that the application should be granted consent subject to certain conditions. The court also found that the council had not adequately considered the potential benefits of the proposed development, such as increased housing stock and improved property values.

The orders of the court were that the appeal be upheld and that the development application be granted consent, subject to the conditions of consent set out in Annexure A. These conditions included requirements for the applicant to obtain necessary permits, comply with environmental impact assessments, and address any concerns raised by neighbouring properties. Overall, the court found in favour of the applicant and determined that the proposed development should proceed as planned.

Orders

Orders of the court

The orders of the Court are:

(1) The appeal is upheld.

(2) Development Application No 226/2023/1 for the demolition of the existing house and garage and construction of a new dwelling, swimming pool and landscaping, at 11A Burrabirra Avenue, Vaucluse NSW 2030, also identified as Lot 1 in Deposited Plan 534559, is determined by the grant of consent, subject to the conditions of consent at Annexure A.

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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