NFF at 410 Pitt Street Pty Ltd v Council of the City of Sydney [2016] NSWLEC 1181

Land and Environment Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: NFF at 410 Pitt Street Pty Ltd v Council of the City of Sydney [2016] NSWLEC 1181 Hearing dates: 21-22 March, 2016 Date of orders: 19 May 2016 Decision date: 19 May 2016 Jurisdiction: Class 1 Before: O'Neill C Decision: 1. The appeal is upheld. 2. Development Application No. D/2015/661 for Stage 1 building envelope for a new 31 storey accommodation hotel at 410 Pitt Street, Haymarket, is approved, subject to the conditions of consent at Annexure A. 3. The exhibits, other than exhibits 11, A and B, are returned. Catchwords: DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION: demolition of existing boarding house and Stage 1 building envelope proposal for a 31 storey hotel; suitability of the site for a tower development; amenity impact on neighbouring residential building; financial viability of the existing boarding house; traffic impact; waste management; design excellence. Cases Cited: Meriton Properties Management Pty Ltd v Sydney City Council (2004) 140 LGERA 144 Category: Principal judgment Parties: NFF at 410 Pitt Street Pty Ltd (Applicant) Council of the City of Sydney (Respondent) Representation: Counsel: Mr A. Galasso SC (Applicant) Ms A. Pearman barrister (Respondent)

Solicitors: Mills Oakley Lawyers (Applicant) Council of the City of Sydney (Respondent) File Number(s): 10752 of 2015

Judgment 1. COMMISSIONER: This is an appeal pursuant to the provisions of s 97 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act) against the deemed refusal of Development Application No. D/2015/661 for the demolition of a 74 room boarding house and Stage 1 building envelope of a new 33 storey accommodation hotel (the proposal) at 410 Pitt Street, Haymarket (the site) by the Council of the City of Sydney (the Council). 2. The appeal was subject to mandatory conciliation on 19 November 2015, in accordance with the provisions of s 34 of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (LEC Act). As agreement was not reached by the parties, the conciliation conference was terminated the same day, pursuant to s 34(4) of the LEC Act. The proposal was amended following the termination of the conciliation conference and leave was granted by the Court on 10 December 2015 for the applicant to rely on the amended proposal. The respondent filed an amended statement of facts and contentions on 20 January 2016.