Hornsby RSL Club Ltd v Hornsby Shire Council [2005] NSWLEC 589

Land and Environment Court of New South Wales

CITATION : Hornsby RSL Club Ltd v Hornsby Shire Council [2005] NSWLEC 589

APPLICANT Hornsby RSL Club Ltd

PARTIES : RESPONDENT Hornsby Shire Council

FILE NUMBER(S) : 10604 of 2005

CORAM: Hoffman C

KEY ISSUES: Appeal :- Demoliton - heritage item - storm damage -conservation areas - streetscape

LEGISLATION CITED: Hornsby Local Environmental Plan

DATES OF HEARING: 13/10/2005 EX TEMPORE JUDGMENT DATE : 10/13/2005

APPLICANT Mr P Clay, barrister

LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES: RESPONDENT Mr P Jackson, solicitor SOLICITORS Pike Pike & Fenwick

JUDGMENT: THE LAND AND ENVIRONMENT COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Hoffman C

13 October 2005

10604 of 2005 Hornsby RSL Club Ltd v Hornsby Shire Council

JUDGMENT

1 This is a class one appeal No. 10604 of 2005 between Hornsby RSL Club Ltd and Hornsby Shire Council in regard to a heritage item at 17 Ashley Street, Hornsby. The application was for demolition of the house. The area is in Residential B Medium Density Zone of the Hornsby Local Environmental Plan as amended to July 2005. The subject house is listed in Sch D as a heritage item. 2 On the day of the hearing, the Court heard from the Court-appointed expert heritage architect and town planner Mr Davies who had prepared a report in Exhibit 3. The inspection at the site revealed that it was a dilapidated house set on a large allotment also owned by the applicant. It was the only building left on that property, all the others having been demolished. The subject house had been intended to be retained as part of a sports complex proposed by the applicant. 3 However, financial circumstances had not permitted that development to proceed and the house had remained on the site for a number of years and become storm damaged due to some of the high intensity storms that had passed over the area in recent times. Mr Davies took me through the house and indicated its deterioration and a considerable amount of work would be needed to restore the property if it was worthwhile. However, Mr Davies had consulted a report by the heritage experts Tropman and Tropman Architects which had been completed in July 2004 and reviewed 30 heritage items in the Hornsby area. Of all those items only one was recommended to be de-listed as a heritage item and that is the subject property. 4 The opinion of Tropman and Tropman Architects coincided with Mr Davies' opinion that there had been substantial deterioration in decay of the fabric of the house and its safety had been compromised as had its heritage significance. Mr Davies also noted that it was an isolated item surrounded by more modern houses on one side of the street and the Hornsby RSL Club house on the opposite side. The remainder of the area being zoned for medium density had already been partly redeveloped and it was expected that such redevelopment would continue in the locality completely changing the streetscape character. 5 Quite close to the subject site were two conservation areas which Mr Davies had inspected and found within it several examples of similar period houses which amply provided for retention of existing heritage fabric for future generations to experience in a much better setting of conservation areas where streetscape would be preserved. 6 During the disputation on this matter the parties had negotiated and reached consent orders contained in Exhibit 2. Mr Davies had reviewed the draft conditions agreed by the parties which included photographic recording of the heritage item for archival purposes in the council's libraries and other conditions relating to safety of demolition. The proposal had been notified and there were no objectors to the proposal.