Landmark Group Australia Pty Limited v The Hills Shire Council [2023] NSWLEC 1243

Land and Environment Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Landmark Group Australia Pty Limited v The Hills Shire Council [2023] NSWLEC 1243 Hearing dates: Conciliation Conference 10 May 2023 Date of orders: 23 May 2023 Decision date: 23 May 2023 Jurisdiction: Class 1 Before: Espinosa C Decision: The Court orders that: (1) The Applicant is to pay the Respondent's costs thrown away in the amount of $30,000 pursuant to s 8.15(3) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 within 28 days of the date of these orders. (2) The Written Request pursuant to cl 4.6 of The Hills Local Environmental Plan 2019 (LEP) seeking variation to the maximum height of building control in cl 4.3 of the LEP, prepared by Sutherland & Associates dated April 2022, is upheld. (3) The appeal is upheld. (4) Development Application No. 1801/2022/JP for the demolition of existing structures and construction of a residential flat building containing 95 apartments over 2 basement levels, dedication of road widening and strata subdivision is determined by the grant of consent subject to the conditions of consent in Annexure 'A'. Catchwords: DEVELOPMENT APPEAL – residential flat building – written request to justify the contravention of height of building development standard – Showground Station Precinct - design excellence – flood planning – conciliation conference – agreement between the parties - orders Legislation Cited: Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, ss 4.16, 8.7, 8.15 Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021, ss 6, 37 Land and Environment Court Act 1979, ss 34, 39 State Environmental Planning Policy (BASIX) 2004 State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021, ss 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22 State Environmental Planning Policy (Resilience and Hazards) 2021, s 4.6 The Hills Local Environmental Plan 2019, cll 2.2, 2.6, 2.7, 4.1, 4.3, 4.4, 4.6, 5.21, 7.1, 7.2, 7.7, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.5, 9.8, Pt 9 Texts Cited: NSW Department of Planning and Environment, Apartment Design Guide, 2015 The Hills Development Control Plan 2012 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Landmark Group Australia Pty Limited (Applicant) The Hills Shire Council (Respondent) Representation: Counsel: A Galasso SC (Applicant) P Hudson (Solicitor)(Respondent)