R E Charles Pty Limited v Lithgow City Council [2006] NSWLEC 464

Land and Environment Court of New South Wales

CITATION : R E Charles Pty Limited v Lithgow City Council [2006] NSWLEC 464

APPLICANT R E Charles Pty Limited PARTIES : RESPONDENT Lithgow City Council

FILE NUMBER(S) : 10175 of 2006

CORAM: Brown C

KEY ISSUES: Development Application :- 28 lot subdivision - traffic/access - amenity impacts

LEGISLATION CITED: Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 Lithgow Local Environmental Plan 1994

DATES OF HEARING: 25/07/06

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 07/27/2006

APPLICANT Mr J Reilly, solicitor SOLICITORS Abbott Tout LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES: RESPONDENT Mr S Griffiths, solicitor SOLICITORS Pike Pike and Fenwick

JUDGMENT: THE LAND AND ENVIRONMENT COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Brown C

27 July 2006

10175 of 2006 R E Charles Pty Limited v Lithgow City Council

JUDGMENT 1 COMMISSIONER: This is an appeal against the refusal by Lithgow City Council (the council) of DA/124/05 for the subdivision of land in 2 stages off Tweed Road, Outer Crescent and Tangent Street, Bowenfels to create residential lots, access roads and open space (the site).

2 The hearing was changed from a Court hearing to an On Site hearing on 25 July 2006. Following the evidence from local residents and an inspection of the site, the hearing was adjourned prior to a decision being made to allow the parties to discuss a dispute over a condition. It was agreed that the parties would advise the Court at a Mention on 26 July 2006 whether additional evidence would need to be called to address the outstanding issue. Prior to the Mention, the parties agreed on all conditions. The site 3 The site consists of Lot 1 in DP 549480, Lot 11 in DP 815871 and Lot 22 in DP 601501. The lots have an area of 7.41 hectares and adjoin existing residential development to the east and rural development to the west, north and south. The land is generally clear although there is dense vegetation containing a large amount of willows along the creek. The site is undulating to steep and drains directly into Farmers Creek. The proposal 4 The proposal considered by the council provides for the subdivision of the site into 38 residential lots in 2 stages, being Stages 2 and 3. Stage 1 is a 2 lot subdivision under a separate development application (DA 358/05) that provides access to the subdivision off Outer Crescent. Stage 2 consists of a 30 lot subdivision with lots ranging from 700 square metres to 2146 square metres. Stage 2 also includes an area of 2.549 hectares along Farmers Creek designated as proposed open space. This area provides a 40 metre setback to the new internal road from the riparian zone along Farmers Creek. Stage 3 consists of an 8 lot subdivision of an area of 1.008 hectares with lots ranging from 880 square metres to 1772 square metres.