NEW LAND AND ENVIRONMENT COURT WEB SITE

The Land and Environment Court has released a major upgrade to its web site to coincide with the first anniversary of structural reforms to the Court’s hearing of local planning and development appeals.

The Court’s Chief Judge, Peter McClellan, said that, as part of the reform process, the Court’s Commissioners have been setting out planning principles, in broad form, to enable local government, planners, developers and the community to understand more easily the broad principles which are applied in assessing development appeals.

“For example, although the Court regularly deals with complaints about proposed development interfering with views from neighbouring properties, in the past these were considered on an individual basis. In a landmark case last year, the Court’s Senior Commissioner set out the principles against which future view sharing cases would be tested. That case, Tenacity Consulting v Warringah Council [2004] NSWLEC 140, is now accepted as setting out the benchmarks against which all future view sharing cases will be tested”, Justice McClellan said.

“Other decisions have been made by Commissioners setting out planning principles on different topics. Although this is an ongoing process, I have decided that a collection of these planning principles should be made easily available through the Court’s website as part of the upgrade of information. A list of the planning

principles, with links to the relevant decision, has now been established and included in the relaunched website”, he said.

Justice McClellan also noted that new website contains a range of further information to assist people who are not regularly involved in the Court’s processes.

“A significant portion of the planning appeals dealt with by the Court involve people who are presenting their own case or giving evidence as resident objectors to particular proposals. I want them to understand what we are doing and for us to help people if they need to come to the Court.”

Justice McClellan continued, “Information that will now be made available through the Court’s website will assist people who are not regularly users of the Court understand how hearings are conducted. This will make our processes even more accessible to members of the general public”.

“This aspect of the Court’s role, as an essential part of the planning process, should be made as understandable and accessible to ordinary citizens as possible. The Court’s new website, including the planning principles collection, is a further step in the reform process making the Court more relevant to the community it serves”, he concluded.

The Court’s web site is accessed through the State Government’s Lawlink at http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lec

Contact: Justice McClellan’s Associate – Angela Flockhart – 0417 040 648