Australia, Sept. 1 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on July 31:

1. COMMISSIONER: Pursuant to the provisions of s 4.55(8) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) (EPA Act), these proceedings concern a Modification Application DA-1139/2022/A (the MA) made directly to the Court by ANBZ Investments Pty Ltd (the Applicant). In these circumstances, Liverpool City Council (the Respondent) is required to exercise certain functions of the consent authority.

2. The MA seeks to modify Development Consent DA-1139/2022 (the parent DA), which comprises the demolition of existing building and structures, removal of existing trees and construction of industrial development comprising sixteen warehouses with mezzanines, 53 storage units on the first floor, car parking and associated landscaping, at 3-5 Hume Highway, Warwick Farm (the site).

Consent for the parent DA was granted by the Court on 11 September 2023 in proceedings ANBZ Investments Pty Ltd v Liverpool City Council [2023] NSWLEC 1512.

The MA was lodged with the Court on 20 December 2024 and at that date sought approval to modify the parent DA with the following design changes:

1) Amendments to Warehouse Unit A1 to accommodate a switch room, changes to parking configuration, and removal of an approved communal fire egress stair.

2) Amendments to Warehouse Unit A8, adjusting its shape and providing a splay to the north-western corner, relocation of the loading dock entry, and introduction of a switch room.

3) Amendments to Warehouse Unit B1, altering the ground floor layout to accommodate an internal lift, reconfiguration of employee amenities to accommodate a proposed lift, and conversion of approved balcony and loading area to internal office space.

4) Amendments to Warehouse Unit B7, relocating the entry door.

5) Amendments to Level 1 Storage Units, the provision of 15 additional storage units, the splitting of approved Unit C5 into two separate units, and the deletion of fire stairs.

6) Amendments to approved materials and facade, deleting painted architectural blades over a concrete facade, proposed to be replaced by metal cladding, additional glazed windows to the mezzanine office level of the warehouse, and introduction of feature awnings.

7) Amendments to site works, deleting the underground on site detention tank, a proposed sprinkler tank to the northeastern corner of the site, relocation of several car and bicycle parking spaces, the provision of a dual sprinkler pump room enclosure, and six additional car spaces.

5. The Court arranged a conciliation conference under s 34 of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (NSW) (LEC Act) between the parties, which was held on 11 and 26 June 2025. I presided over the conciliation conference.

6. During the conciliation conference, the parties reached agreement as to the terms of a decision in these proceedings that would be acceptable to the parties. The agreement involves the Court granting approval to an amended MA, subject to conditions.

7. Of note, the MA has been amended to resolve the contentions originally pressed by the Respondent, which included the need for the provision of further information, the need for public notification, the need for external referrals, and inadequacies in documentation accompanying the MA.

8. The amendment of the MA by the Applicant, to provide additional information and clarification, has permitted public notification and external referrals to occur. Together these amendments are agreed to resolve the issues in this matter.

9. 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 4.55 of the EPA Act to modify the parent DA.

10. There are jurisdictional prerequisites that must be satisfied before this function can be exercised.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/1984e7ec7eed75ee1cccde64)

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.