Legman Pty Limited v Council of the City of Sydney [2005] NSWLEC 640

Land and Environment Court of New South Wales

CITATION : Legman Pty Limited v Council of the City of Sydney [2005] NSWLEC 640

APPLICANT Legman Pty Limited PARTIES : RESPONDENT Council of the City of Sydney

FILE NUMBER(S) : 10779 of 2005

CORAM: Moore C

Development Application :- Nightclub KEY ISSUES: Hours of trading Consent conditional on sale of business .

Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 Central Sydney Local Environmental Plan 1996 LEGISLATION CITED: Central Sydney Development Control Plan 1996 .

Vinson v Randwick Council [2005] NSWLEC 142; Randall Pty Ltd v Leichhardt Council [2004] NSWLEC 277; CASES CITED: Newbury District Council v Secretary of State for the Environment [1981] AC 578; .

DATES OF HEARING: 4 October 2005

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 11/11/2005

APPLICANT Mr S Austin QC INSTRUCTED BY Phillips Fox LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES: RESPONDENT Mr P Clay, barrister INSTRUCTED BY Maddocks

JUDGMENT: THE LAND AND ENVIRONMENT COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Moore C

11 November 2005

05/10779 Legman Pty Limited v Council of the City of Sydney

The consequence of the Court's decision in this appeal is the grant of development consent subject to detailed conditions. These conditions are not reproduced as part of this decision but are available for inspection at the Council. In addition, a copy the Court's Orders and the conditions may be obtained from the Court's registry upon payment of a fee. Details of the fee payable and process for obtaining a copy of the Orders and conditions are available on the Court's web site at http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lec/ JUDGMENT The site 1 Commissioner: This is an appeal pursuant to s 97 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (the Act) against the refusal by the Council of the City of Sydney (the council) of Development Application D/2004/01684 for extended trading hours for a nightclub in the La Bohem Hotel at 477 Pitt Street, Sydney (the site). The hotel comprises the ground floor and two lower floors of a heritage building which was the former headquarters of the Sydney Gas Company. The lower two levels operate as a nightclub known as "Gas" (the nightclub) and comprise the refurbished area of an old brick-lined gasometer on the site. 2 The former headquarters of the Sydney Gas Company has been redeveloped into a complex known as Sydney Central and is bounded by Pitt, Barlow, Parker and Hay Streets. However, entrances used for the nightclub are accessed from Pitt Street only as, during the relevant hours, alternative access points are blocked off. 3 There are no permanent residences (but there are several backpacker-style premises) in the immediate vicinity.