In a recent decision of the Land and Environment Court, the phrase “suitable vehicular access” was considered in the context of a residential development that required access over neighbouring land. In the matter of Fitton v Central Coast Council, where…
A Reminder of the Importance of Information Addressing Jurisdictional Preconditions in Development Appeals
21 Apr, 2022
In the last 5 years, jurisdictional preconditions — being matters that must be considered or satisfied prior to the grant of development consent — have been under the microscope in the determination of development appeals by the Land and Environment…
We recently blogged on the primacy of the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (BC Act) in the development assessment process, and how recent Court decisions have interpreted the BC Act as creating significant hurdles for a wide range of developments that…
Greater Sydney is now the Six Cities Region
20 Apr, 2022
As of 13 April 2022, the Greater Sydney Region, is to be known as the ‘Six Cities Region‘. The Greater Cities Commission Act 2022 (‘Cities Act‘) implements this change. The Cities Act also repeals the Greater Sydney Commission Act 2015…
Lapsing of Consents for Staged Developments
6 Apr, 2022
A recent case has illustrated the importance of closely interpreting conditions in consents for staged developments not only for compliance purposes, but also to determine what is needed to prevent the development consent from lapsing. Donvito v Hawkesbury City Council [2022]…
We previously blogged on the consolidation of existing State Environmental Planning Policies into 11 new thematic instruments, in an attempt by the State Government to simplify the planning system. On 1 March 2022, the thematic SEPPs commenced. The former SEPPs…
In May 2020, as an emergency measure in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, section 8.10 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act) was amended to insert provisions that allowed 12 months for an appeal to be commenced in the…
UPDATE: this post was updated on 30 March 2022 to reflect the Bill’s assent on 24 March 2022. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NSW Government implemented a number of regulatory measures on a temporary basis. On 15 February…
The Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021 (‘EP&A Reg 2021‘) commences on 1 March 2022 with the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000 (‘EP&A Reg 2000‘) to be repealed on the same day. The NSW Government has stated that the…
The NSW Land and Environment Court has recently confirmed that there is no power for a consent authority to require dedication of land free of cost, even if the developer volunteers to do so, absent a voluntary planning agreement (‘VPA‘)…
Registered easements for rock anchors
17 Jan, 2022
Introduction Historically, builders and developers sought to emplace ground anchors in neighbouring property through a licence agreement with the owner of that property. Following construction, the ground anchors were de-stressed and remained in the neighbouring property. Under the Design and…
Exhibition of the Design and Place SEPP 2021
22 Dec, 2021
UPDATE: On 6 April 2022, the Minister for Planning and Minister for Homes Anthony Roberts announced that, following public exhibition, the NSW government will not be introducing the Design and Place State Environmental Planning Policy. The Minister has advised that…