Stateland Group v Ashfield Council [2005] NSWLEC 443

Land and Environment Court of New South Wales

CITATION : Stateland Group v Ashfield Council [2005] NSWLEC 443

Applicant: Stateland Group Pty Ltd PARTIES : Respondent: Ashfield Municipal Council

FILE NUMBER(S) : 11345 of 2004

CORAM: Roseth SC - Tuor C.

Development Application - Development Control Plan :- residential flat building KEY ISSUES: application of FSR and height bonus provisions

Ashfield Local Environmental Plan 1985 LEGISLATION CITED: State Environmental Planning Policy 65 - Design Quality of Residential Flat Development

DATES OF HEARING: 01/08/2005 and 02/08/2005

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 08/16/2005

Applicant: Mr G McKee, solicitor of McKees Legal Solutions LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES:

Respondent: Mr P Jackson, solicitor of Pike Pike & Fenwick

JUDGMENT:

THE LAND AND ENVIRONMENT COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Roseth SC Tuor C

16 August 2005

11345 of 2004 Stateland Group Pty Ltd v Ashfield Municipal Council

JUDGMENT 1 Commissioners: This is an appeal against the refusal by Ashfield Municipal Council (the council) to alter and convert an existing office building and erect a new residential flat building on lot 1 DP 991435, known as 164-174 Liverpool Road, Ashfield.

The site 2 The site is on the south side of Liverpool Road between Queen and Holden Streets. It has a 30m frontage to Liverpool Road and a 50m frontage to Norton Street. The site now contains a seven-storey office building standing at an angle to Liverpool Road and a two-storey car park on the Norton Street frontage. 3 Adjoining the site to the east along Liverpool Road is the former School of Arts building, which is listed as a heritage item. To the west along Liverpool Road is a two-storey building containing two shops. Further to the west is the Uniting Church and church hall, both of which are listed as heritage items and set back from the street. Further to the west is the Polish Club, which is also set back from the street. Between the Polish Club and Holden Street is a continuous line of two storey shops built to the street boundary. There are also two-storey shops on the other side of Liverpool Road. The Ashfield Primary School is directly opposite. 4 Adjoining the site to the east along Norton Street are three single-storey houses, Nos 45, 47 and 49 Norton Street. To the west are: a single-storey building on the Uniting Church site, a three-storey apartment building, the Polish Club, a house and a four-storey office building on the corner of Holden Street. The development on the other side of Norton Street is residential, mainly two-storey terrace houses. The zone boundary between the commercial and residential zones runs along Norton Street. 5 The site obtains vehicular access through a small parcel of land fronting Queen Street. The parcel belongs to the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources. The application has the consent of the owner.