Rimmington v Brinkworth [2022] NSWLEC 1076

Land and Environment Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Rimmington v Brinkworth [2022] NSWLEC 1076 Hearing dates: 22 October 2021 Date of orders: 14 February 2022 Decision date: 14 February 2022 Jurisdiction: Class 2 Before: Galwey AC Decision: The Court orders that: (1) The application is granted to the extent of the orders below. (2) Until the bamboo hedge along the respondents' common boundary with the applicant's property is removed, during March and September each year, beginning March 2022, the respondents are to prune, or are to engage a suitably insured landscape contractor or arborist to prune, the bamboo hedge along the respondents' common boundary with the applicant's' property so that: the bamboo is no more than 2 metres above the top of the boundary fence; and all bamboo overhanging the applicant's boundary is pruned back to the boundary line. The respondents are to remove any debris from the pruning in order (2) from the applicant's property. (3) The respondents are to give the applicant at least 2 days' notice of each pruning event in order (2). (4) The applicant is to allow access for each pruning event in order (2) during reasonable hours of the day. Catchwords: TREES (DISPUTES BETWEEN NEIGHBOURS) – Pt 2A application – obstruction of sunlight and views – bamboo – whether the obstruction is severe – privacy – balancing of applicant's access to sunlight and views with respondents' privacy – pruning ordered Legislation Cited: Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006, ss 14A, 14B, 14D, 14E, 14F Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Regulation 2019, cl 4 Cases Cited: Davies v Penrith City Council [2013] NSWLEC 1141 Steber v Job [2019] NSWLEC 1308 Vartazarian v Elworthy; Fallows v Elworthy [2020] NSWLEC 1462 Texts Cited: Lake Macquarie Development Control Plan 2014 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Carolyn Rimmington (Applicant) Craig Brinkworth (First Respondent) Alyta Brinkworth (Second Respondent) Representation: Counsel: C Rimmington (Litigant in Person) (Applicant) C Brinkworth (Litigant in Person) (First Respondent) A Brinkworth (Litigant in Person) (Second Respondent) File Number(s): 2021/180335 Publication restriction: No