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Statutory Notices – Essential Preconditions to Exercise of Power
The Land and Environment Court has once again emphasised the importance of compliance with statutory requirements for public notices by invalidating a contract for sale as a result of a failure by a Minister to publish a proper statutory notification prior…
Construction impact of concept proposals – a mandatory consideration or not?
In one of the few cases considering the scheme for concept proposals in the context of staged development applications, the Land and Environment Court (‘LEC‘) has determined whether construction impacts are mandatory relevant considerations when assessing a purely conceptual proposal for…
Local Government Amendment (Governance and Planning) Bill 2016
The Local Government Amendment (Governance and Planning) Bill 2016 (‘Governance and Planning Bill‘) was introduced into Parliament on 22 June 2016. The Governance and Planning Bill is the first phase of the Government’s broader reform of the Local Government Act 1993…
New Housing Code proposed to replace existing General Housing Code
The Department of Planning and Environment has published a draft Housing Code to replace the General Housing Code in Part 3 of the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008 (‘Codes SEPP‘). While the draft Housing Code looks significantly…
Lapsing of Consents – Works Need Not be for a Core Activity
The Supreme Court has put beyond doubt that when determining whether particular works can prevent lapsing of a development consent under section 95(4) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (‘EPA Act‘), there is no place for distinguishing between works…
Revised Community Consultative Committee Guidelines for State Significant Projects
The Department of Planning and Environment has revised its guidelines on Community Consultative Committees so that they apply not only to mining projects but to State significant projects generally. The draft Community Consultative Committee Guidelines (Draft Guidelines) are now available on…
Approving the Outer Parameters of State Significant Infrastructure
The Land and Environment Court has recently stated in Community Action for Windsor Bridge Inc v NSW Roads and Maritime Services & anor [2015] NSWLEC 167 that State significant infrastructure may be described and approved with considerable generality and flexibility.
Risk Warning Signs – Enter at Your Own Risk
Councils can take some comfort regarding the effectiveness of general risk warning signs as a result of the decision of the Court of Appeal in Sharp v Parramatta City Council [2015] NSWCA 260.
Have your say on draft Planning Agreement Guidelines for State significant mining
The Department of Planning and Environment has released the second stage of its draft Integrated Mining Policy (‘IMP‘) for public consultation. Among the documents that are available for review and comment is the ‘Planning Agreement Guidelines for State Significant Mining…
Plans of management could permit private function centres on Crown reserves
The Land and Environment Court in the recent case of Friends of King Edward Park Inc v Newcastle City Council (No 2) [2015] NSWLEC 76 found that a commercial function centre proposed to be used for private events such as…
Court upholds decision with ‘devastating’ impact on views
The Land and Environment Court recently upheld a decision by Warringah Council to grant consent to a development which had ‘devastating impacts’ on the neighbour’s views despite a development control requiring reasonable sharing of views.
Details matter – The importance of accurate information on contamination and remediation
Accurate and thorough information should be provided to consent authorities in relation to contamination and remediation of land to ensure the consent authority can meet its obligations to consider contamination and remediation under State Environmental Planning Policy No 55 – Remediation of…
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