Bennett v Northern Beaches Council [2022] NSWLEC 1720

Land and Environment Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Bennett v Northern Beaches Council [2022] NSWLEC 1720 Hearing dates: 5 December 2022 Date of orders: 21 December 2022 Decision date: 21 December 2022 Jurisdiction: Class 1 Before: Gray C Decision: The Court orders that: (1) The appeal is upheld. (2) The development application DA 2021/0311 for the demolition of existing structures and the construction of a boarding house at 2 The Circle, Narraweena, is determined by the grant of consent subject to the conditions in Annexure A. (3) Exhibits C, D, 1, 2 and 4 are returned, and the remaining exhibits are retained. Catchwords: APPEAL – development application – boarding house – whether site is within an accessible area – definition of walking distance – whether walking across a park meets definition – whether site is suitable for the development – whether there is any requirement to consider distance to public transport and other facilities Legislation Cited: Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 ss 4.15, 8.7 Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000 cl 55 Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021 State Environmental Planning Policy (Affordable Rental Housing) 2009 cll 4, 26, 28, 29, 30, 30A, 30AA State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021 Pt 5, Sch 7A State Environmental Planning Policy (Resilience and Hazards) 2021 s 4.6 Warringah Local Environmental Plan 2011 Cases Cited: Central Coast Council v 40 Gindurra Road Somersby Pty Ltd (No 2) 241 LGERA 133; [2019] NSWLEC 171 Matic v Mid-Western Regional Council [2008] NSWLEC 113 McKavanagh v Northern Beaches Council [2020] NSWLEC 1662 The Winter Group Pty Ltd v Ku-Ring-Gai Council [2000] NSWLEC 70 VL3 Pty Ltd v Inner West Council [2022] NSWLEC 1349 Texts Cited: Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Warringah Development Control Plan 2011 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Michael Philip Bennett (Applicant) Northern Beaches Council (Respondent) Representation: Counsel: T Howard SC (Applicant) A Gough (Solicitor) (Respondent)