Butler Street Community Network Incorporated v Northern Region Joint Regional Planning Panel (No 2) [2017] NSWLEC 55

Land and Environment Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Butler Street Community Network Incorporated v Northern Region Joint Regional Planning Panel (No 2) [2017] NSWLEC 55 Hearing dates: 05 May 2017 Date of orders: 05 May 2017 Decision date: 05 May 2017 Jurisdiction: Class 1 Before: Robson J Decision: Application refused Catchwords: PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – application to vacate hearing dates – whether vacation warranted to allow articulation of revised issues – application refused Legislation Cited: Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW), s 56 Environment and Planning Assessment Act 1979 (NSW), Pt 5 State Environment Planning Policy No 14 – Coastal Wetlands Category: Procedural and other rulings Parties: Butler Street Community Network Incorporated (Applicant) Northern Region Joint Regional Planning Panel (First Respondent) GHD Pty Ltd (Second Respondent) Byron Shire Council (Third Respondent) Representation: Counsel: N Hammond (Applicant) J Wood, solicitor (First Respondent) A Galasso SC (Third Respondent)

Solicitors: McCartney Young Lawyers (Applicant) Department of Planning and Environment (First Respondent) HWL Ebsworth Lawyers (Second Respondent and Third Respondent) File Number(s): 2016/00227775

Judgment 1. These are reasons for orders given in the afternoon of 5 May 2015. Earlier that day I gave judgment refusing to make an order dismissing these Class 1 appeal proceedings. My judgment dealt with the first order sought in the Notice of Motion filed by Butler Street Community Network Incorporated ('Butler Street') that was argued before me as Duty Judge on 28 April 2017. The Notice of Motion sought orders more particularly: 1. That the proceedings be dismissed as the Court has no jurisdiction to determine the development application that is before it. 2. That the dates for the hearing of these proceedings, being 15, 16 and 17 May 2017 be vacated. 3. That the Orders for "Case management" and the timetable made by Court on 30 March 2017 be vacated and no further orders for Case management be made until the determination of the issues raised in proposed Order 1 of this Motion. … 1. I concluded for reasons published on 5 May 2017 (Butler Street Community Network Inc v Northern Region Joint Regional Panel [2017] NSWLEC 51) ('earlier judgment') that the Court, in the circumstances therein set out, did have jurisdiction to determine the development before it and therefore dismissed Order 1. I deferred consideration on the other orders including Orders 2 and 3 in the Motion seeking vacation of hearing dates on 15, 16 and 17 May 2017 to allow further submissions which I heard on the afternoon of 5 May (after handing earlier judgment). 2. I declined to make an order vacating the hearing dates and given the urgency of the matter, indicated that I would later publish my reasons. I also gave the following directions: 1. The applicant is to file and serve any amended Statement of Facts and Contentions by 8 May 2017. The amendments to the contentions are to be restricted to the deletion of existing contentions and/or particulars. No new contentions may be raised absent leave of the Court. 2. The experts are to file and serve their joint reports by 11 May 2017. 3. The JRPP is to file and serve its draft conditions in response by 10 May 2017. 4. The applicant is to file and serve its draft conditions in response by 12 May 2017. 5. The parties are to exchange indexes to proposed bundles of documents by 9 May 2017. 6. The parties are to file an agreed bundle of documents or, if no agreement is reached, separate bundles of documents, by 10 May 2017. 7. The applicant is to file and serve a notice of objectors who wish to give evidence at the hearing by 9 May 2017. 1. This judgment sets out my reasons for declining to vacate the hearing dates. 2. I adopt the background facts summarised at [5]-[11] of the earlier judgment.