Lonergan v The Hills Shire Council [2013] NSWLEC 1254

Land and Environment Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Lonergan v The Hills Shire Council [2013] NSWLEC 1254 Hearing dates: 19 December, 2013 Decision date: 20 December 2013 Jurisdiction: Class 1 Before: O'Neill C Decision: 1. The appeal is upheld. 2. Development Application No. 72/2014/HB for the demolition of existing structures and construction of a six unit, two storey, multi-dwelling house is approved, subject to the conditions of consent attached in Annexure A. 3. The exhibits, other than exhibits 1 and 3, are returned. Catchwords: DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION: affordable housing units; no issues; no instructions from Council for consent. Legislation Cited: Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 Land and Environment Court Act 1979 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Mr Peter Lonergan (Applicant) The Hills Shire Council (Respondent) Representation: Mr Graham McKee Solicitor (Applicant) Mr Anthony Hudson Solicitor (Respondent) McKees Legal Solutions (Applicant) Wilshire Webb Staunton Beattie (Respondent) File Number(s): 10720 of 2013

Judgment 1COMMISSIONER: This is an appeal pursuant to the provisions of s97 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 against the deemed refusal of Development Application No. 72/2014/HB (the proposal) by The Hills Shire Council (the Council) for the demolition of existing structures and construction of a six unit, two storey, multi-dwelling development including two affordable housing units, at 141 Windsor Road, Northmead (the site). 2The appeal was subject to mandatory conciliation on 6 November 2013, in accordance with the provisions of s34 of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (LEC Act). Agreement was reached between the parties during the conciliation conference on the basis of minor amendments made to the proposal, however as Mr Hudson did not have instructions from the Council to enter into a s34 agreement, the conciliation conference was terminated on 20 November 2013 pursuant to s34(4) of the LEC Act. The parties consented to the admission of evidence given during the conciliation conference in the hearing, pursuant to s 34(12) LEC Act. 3Leave was granted by the Court for the Applicant to rely on amended and additional documents on 27 November, 2013 (the amended proposal). The Council did not oppose the granting of leave.