Hatherly v Georgalas [2020] NSWLEC 1562

Land and Environment Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Hatherly v Georgalas [2020] NSWLEC 1562 Hearing dates: 20 August 2020 Date of orders: 17 November 2020 Decision date: 17 November 2020 Jurisdiction: Class 2 Before: Galwey AC Decision: The Court orders: (1) The application is granted. (2) The respondent is to remove, within 30 days of the date of these orders, all bamboo on his property along his southern boundary, and then take any action required to prevent the bamboo regrowing. (3) If the respondent establishes any hedges along his southern or eastern boundaries, he is to use species that grow to a height of no more than 2.5 metres at maturity. Catchwords: TREES (DISPUTES BETWEEN NEIGHBOURS) – neighbouring hedge – bamboo – obstruction of views – whether the obstruction is severe – the bamboo has been pruned – orders for removal – orders to restrict the height of future hedges Legislation Cited: Land and Environment Court Act 1979 Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Regulation 2019 Cases Cited: Steber v Job [2019] NSWLEC 1308 Texts Cited: Lake Macquarie City Council, 'Tree Preservation and Native Vegetation Management Guidelines' Land and Environment Court, 'COVID-19 Pandemic Arrangements Policy' (July 2020) Category: Principal judgment Parties: Barry Richard Hatherly (Applicant) Steven Michael Georgalas (Respondent) Representation: B Hatherly (Litigant in person) (Applicant) S Georgalas (Litigant in person) (Respondent) File Number(s): 2020/125265 Publication restriction: No