Houghton v Shoalhaven City Council

Land and Environment Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Houghton v Shoalhaven City Council [2016] NSWLEC 1195 Hearing dates:2-3 May 2016Date of orders: 24 May 2016 Decision date: 26 May 2016 Jurisdiction:Class 1Before: Morris C Decision: Appeal upheld Catchwords: DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION: tourist and visitor accommodation; siting of development; visual impact; zone objectives; compliance with planning controls Legislation Cited: Shoalhaven Local Environmental Plan 2014; Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979; Rural Fires Act 1997 Texts Cited: Shoalhaven Development Control Plan 2014 Category:Principal judgmentParties: Wayne Houghton (Applicant)   Shoalhaven City Council (Respondent) Representation: Solicitors: Mr A Bradbury, Bradley Allen Love (Applicant)   Mr S Simington Lindsay Taylor Lawyers (Respondent) File Number(s):2016/153920 (formerly 11154 of 2015)Judgment Dr Houghton owns land known as 260 Mount Hay Road, Broughton Vale and authorised the submission of Development Application 14/2381 to Shoalhaven City Council on 5 November 2014 seeking consent for alterations and additions to an existing tourist facility. The council refused consent on 3 November 2015 and Dr Houghton is appealing that determination. The site and its context The site is legally described as Lot 2 in DP 4498, known as No 260 Mount Hay Road (private) Broughton Vale. It is an irregularly shaped allotment which has an area of 47.3 hectares. Access to the site is from a private road (Mount Hay Road) which includes a right of way over Lot 102 and Lots 103 in DP 786955. Bong Bong Road provides public road access to the site. The right-of-way also serves additional properties to the...