Agonic Holdings Pty Ltd v Lithgow City Council [2008] NSWLEC 1347

Land and Environment Court of New South Wales

CITATION : Agonic Holdings Pty Ltd v Lithgow City Council [2008] NSWLEC 1347

APPLICANT Agonic Holdings Pty Ltd PARTIES : RESPONDENT Lithgow City Council

FILE NUMBER(S) : 10580 of 2007

CORAM: Murrell C

KEY ISSUES: Development Application :- Rural subdivision, 1855 hectares into 38 lots; fragmentation of rural holding and loss of agricultural land; land use conflicts; visual impact; threatened flora and fauna; effluent disposal; access and traffic; and public interest

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

DATES OF HEARING: 21/09/2007, 18 and 19/12/2007, 1/04/2008 and 10/07/2008

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 1 October 2008

APPLICANT Mr P. Tomasetti SC Instructed by Mr D. Bolog of DC Balog and Associates LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES:

RESPONDENT Mr S. Griffiths, solicitor with Ms N. Lowe, solicitor of Pikes Lawyers

JUDGMENT: THE LAND AND ENVIRONMENT COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Murrell C

1 October 2008

10580 of 2007 Agonic Holdings Pty Ltd v Lithgow City Council

JUDGMENT 1 The applicant in these proceedings is seeking to subdivide 1855 hectares into 40 allotments ranging in size from 40 to 104 hectares.

2 The subject land is located approximately 35 km west of Lithgow in the rural district known as Tarana. The topography of the land, not unlike the local district, varies considerably from relatively flat pasture and crop land, to moderate slopes, rising to very steep land. There is also a great variation in elevation over the property with the lowest point being at 750 metres, equivalent to Wentworth Falls, and the highest point 1200 metres equivalent to Mt Victoria in elevation above sea level. Some 60% of the site has a slope greater than 15% and 45% of the land is covered with woody native vegetation. There are 48 dams on the property. Figure 1 shows the topographical contours on an aerial photograph.