Whitfield v Waverley Council

Land and Environment Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Whitfield v Waverley Council [2015] NSWLEC 207 Hearing dates:30 November and 10 December 2015Decision date: 10 December 2015 Jurisdiction:Class 1Before: Moore AJ Decision: See [18] to [21] Catchwords: SUBDIVISION – creation of two units from one – the separation – acoustic impacts – separation of electricity supply Legislation Cited: Strata Schemes (Freehold Development) Act 1973 Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 Category:Principal judgmentParties: Richard Whitfield (Applicant) Waverley Council (Respondent) Representation: Counsel: Mr M Seymour, barrister (Applicant) Mr A Hudson, solicitor (Respondent)   Solicitors: Bannermans Lawyers (Applicant) Wilshire Webb Staunton Beattie (Respondent) File Number(s):10627 of 2015Publication restriction:NoJudgment HIS HONOUR: The present application is, in its original form, a proposal to subdivide Unit 5 in the premises at 17 Francis Street, Bondi Beach. Unit 5 is at the lowest level of the building and at its rear. The proposal is to divide it to create two separate dwellings, one of which will be, in its finally proposed configuration, a studio apartment toward the front of the building and the other to be a more conventional apartment at the rear with an enclosed sunroom overlooking the rear garden. A number of matters have arisen concerning the merit of the proposal: some of which were raised by Waverley Council (the Council) in its original, and narrowed subsequently in its amended, Statement of Facts and Contentions; others raised by me arising out of matters pressed by the residents who are also owners of the other apartments...