Tranda Holdings v Wingecarribee Shire Council [2007] NSWLEC 123

Land and Environment Court of New South Wales

CITATION : Tranda Holdings v Wingecarribee Shire Council [2007] NSWLEC 123

APPLICANT Tranda Holdings Pty Limited PARTIES : RESPONDENT Wingecarribee Shire Council

FILE NUMBER(S) : 11032 of 2006

CORAM: Brown C

KEY ISSUES: Development Application :- construction of a hotel - style and design - need for splay corner

LEGISLATION CITED: Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 Wingecarribee Local Environmental Plan 1989

DATES OF HEARING: 26/02/07

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 14 March 2007

APPLICANT Mr M Wright, barrister SOLICITORS Robert Johns Lawyer LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES: RESPONDENT Mr B Bilinsky, solicitor SOLICITORS B Bilinsky& Co

JUDGMENT: THE LAND AND ENVIRONMENT COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Brown C

14 March 2007

11032 of 2006 Tranda Holdings Pty Limited v Wingecarribee Shire Council

JUDGMENT 1 COMMISSIONER: This an appeal against the refusal by Wingecarribee Shire Council (the council) of Development Application LUA06/0903 for the construction of a hotel at the corner of Bundaroo Street and Bong Bong Street, Bowral (the site). The site and locality 2 The site is Lot 10 in DP 805345. It has a frontage of 91.49 m to Bundaroo Street and a frontage of 27.105 m to Bong Bong Street giving a total site area of 3372 sq m. The site contains The Port O'Call Bottle Shop and a motel. The original hotel building on the site has been recently demolished. 3 The site is located at the northern end of the Bowral Town Centre. The commercial centre is characterised by a variety of single storey and two-storey commercial buildings of various ages along Bong Bong Street and some newer development behind these commercial buildings. The proposal 4 The proposed hotel provides for a ground level area of some 450 sq m containing the licensed area, games lounge and poker machine areas. A front patio and rear courtyard also provided at this level. A single bedroom manager's residence of some 83 sq m is provided at first floor level. Relevant planning controls 5 The site is zoned 3(a)(Business Zone) under Wingecarribee Local Environmental Plan 1989. The proposed use is permissible with consent in this zone. 6 Development Control Plan No.46 - Bowral Sub Regional Centre Urban Design and Development Guidelines (DCP 46) applies. DCP 46 provides a number of planning precincts for the Bowral Town Centre. The site falls within Planning Precinct 2 - Secondary Commercial Areas. Clause 1.7 provides Plan Objectives. Section Three addresses In Fill Building Criteria including the current situation (cl 3.1), site analysis (cl 3.2) and in fill design principles (cl 3.3). Section Four addresses the existing character of the different planning precincts with cl 4.3 addressing Planning Precinct 2. Section Six addresses specific development controls for the planning precincts with cl 6.3 addressing Planning Precinct 2. The issues 7 The council filed a Statement of Issues containing two separate issues. These are: 1) whether the style and design of the proposed hotel is acceptable considering the requirements of DCP 46 (Issue 1), 2) whether the proposed development needs to provide a 4m splay at the corner of Bundaroo Street and Bong Bong Street to provide adequate pedestrian storage (Issue 2). The evidence 8 Mr Garry Dutaillis, an architect, provided evidence for the applicant and Dr Peter Kabaila, also an architect provided evidence for the council on the style and design of the proposed hotel. 9 Mr Kenneth Hollyoak, an engineer, provided evidence for the applicant and Mr Peter Nunn, also an engineer, provided evidence for the council on the pedestrian storage issue. 10 No local residents provided evidence as there were no objections when the development application was advertised Style and design Dutaillis evidence 11 Mr Dutaillis states that the design makes a conscientious effort to interpret existing forms and makes use of typical building elements in producing the final building form, as required by DCP 46. The tower elements on each corner of the building define the buildings overall size and while not common to the precinct, he believes that the building is unique in that all four facades are open to view. The north and west elevations have street frontages while the east elevation fronts the existing bottle shop and the south elevation provides an edge to the bottle shop access drive. The repetition of the tower element reinforces the overall building mass in relation to the siting of the proposal. The verandah element of the building serves several purposes including the emphasis of the visual planes along Bong Bong Street and the establishment of building modules through the use of columns. Kabaila evidence Dr Kabaila states that elements of the architecture, particularly the tower elements, are out of character with the Bowral Conservation Area. He describes the tower elements as more reminiscent of prison watchtowers. Their height is emphasised by elongated rectangular openings, which also serves to isolate them from appreciation at street level. Other architectural elements, such as the floor and verandah raised on a podium level and separated from Bong Bong Street, further isolate the building from the surrounding streetscape. Dr Kabaila states that the ground floor level access could be improved by relating it more to the street through a reduction in the height of the ground floor level and removing the separating wall. The screen wall on the east elevation also has no relevance to the style of a traditional building and should be scaled down to provide less visual emphasis. Overall, the proposal should be redesigned, as it is not an adequate response to traditional architecture in the Bowral Conservation Area and not a good example of respectful interpretation of local pub architecture.