Australia, April 13 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on March 14:

1. COMMISSIONER: This is an appeal pursuant to the provisions of s 8.7(1) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act) against the refusal of Development Application No DA2023/0012 (DA) for demolition of existing structures and construction of a seven-storey residential flat building consisting of 28 residential apartments above three basement levels of parking containing 43 car parking spaces plus tree removal, landscaping and associated site works at 180-184 Princes Highway, Beverly Park NSW (the site).

2. The subject site is legally described as Lots 1, 2 and 3 in Deposited Plan 17522.

3. The site has a frontage to Princes Highway and is currently occupied by three dwellings. The site adjoins "McWilliam House" at 186-188 Princes Highway, a two-storey residence and garden listed as a local item of environmental heritage in Sch 5 of the Georges River Local Environmental Plan 2021 (item I3).

4. The Court arranged a conciliation conference under s 34(1) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (LEC Act) between the parties, which was held on 26 November 2024. I presided over the conciliation conference, commencing with an onsite view, at which the Court, in the company of legal representatives and their parties heard oral submissions from residents. Following the conciliation conference, on the basis of amended plans and agreed conditions of consent, the parties reached agreement as to the terms of a decision in the proceedings that would be acceptable to the parties.

5. Under s 34(3) of the LEC Act, I must dispose of the proceedings in accordance with the parties' decision if the parties' decision is a decision that the Court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions. The parties' decision involves the Court exercising the function under s 4.16 of the EPA Act to grant consent to the DA.

6. I formed an opinion of satisfaction, based on the evidence and the submissions of the parties, that each of the pre-jurisdictional requirements identified by the parties have been met, for the reasons that follow.

Jurisdictional matters

Owner's consent

7. The DA was made with the consent of the owner of the site.

Notification

8. The DA, was notified by the Council from 3 May 2023 to 17 May 2023; no submissions were received during the public notification period. The DA, as amended (amended DA), was renotified from 8 February 2024 to 22 February 2024.; no submissions were received.

Planning Framework

Georges River Local Environmental Plan 2021

9. The Georges River Local Environmental Plan 2021 (GRLEP) applies to the site, which is within the Georges River Local Government Area (cl 1.3).

10. The site is located within the R4 High Density Residential zone, pursuant to the GRLEP. The proposal is consistent with the relevant objectives of the zone, which are:

* To provide for the housing needs of the community within a high density residential environment.

* To provide a variety of housing types within a high density residential environment.

* To enable other land uses that provide facilities or services to meet the day to day needs of residents.

* To enable other land uses that contribute to the vibrancy of the neighbourhood while ensuring that business centres remain the focus for business and retail activity.

* To encourage development that maximises public transport patronage and promotes walking and cycling.

11. Development for the purposes of residential flat buildings is permissible with consent in Zone R4. The proposed development is construction of a residential flat building with the definition in GRLEP.

*Rest of the document and Footnotes can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/1958832fad348917b854d7ee)

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