Vanmeld Pty Limited v Fairfield City Council [2000] NSWCA 51

Reported Decision : 106 LGERA 454

New South Wales Court of Appeal

CITATION : Vanmeld Pty Limited v Fairfield City Council [2000] NSWCA 51 FILE NUMBER(S) : CA 40028/99 HEARING DATE(S) : 29 February 2000 JUDGMENT DATE : 22 March 2000

PARTIES : Vanmeld Pty Limited (Appellant) Fairfield City Council (Respondent) JUDGMENT OF : Stein JA at 1; Heydon JA at 40; Rolfe AJA at 41

LOWER COURT JURISDICTION : Land & Environment Court LOWER COURT LEC 40077/97 FILE NUMBER(S) : LOWER COURT Sheahan J JUDICIAL OFFICER :

COUNSEL : B Rayment QC/ E M Strasser (Appellant) J Webster (Respondent) SOLICITORS : Jennifer E Darin (Appellant) Deacons Graham & James (Respondent) CATCHWORDS : LAND AND ENVIRONMENT COURT - class 4 application - Environment and Planning Law - words and phrases - 'floodway' - Fairfield Local Environmental Plan (1994) - whether Court properly construed definition of 'floodway' - use of extrinsic material - whether divided floodwaters form two flow paths. D LEGISLATION CITED : Fairfield Local Environmental Plan 1994 Black v Shaw (1913) 33 NZLR 194 CASES CITED: Gough v Gough [1891] 2 QB 665 Re Licensing Ordinance (1968) 13 FLR 143 DECISION : Appeal dismissed with costs

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES COURT OF APPEAL

CA 40028/99 LEC 40077/97 STEIN JA HEYDON JA ROLFE AJA Wednesday, 22 March 2000 VANMELD PTY LIMITED v FAIRFIELD CITY COUNCIL

Background

In a class 4 application to the Land and Environment Court, the appellant sought a declaration that none of its land is within a floodway under the Fairfield Local Environmental Plan 1994 (the LEP), or alternatively a declaration identifying what portions of the land are within a floodway.