Kovacs v Council of the City of Sydney [2020] NSWLEC 1258

Kovacs v Council of the City of Sydney [2020] NSWLEC 1258

Conditional consent was warranted because, after considering the Statements of Significance, the endorsed Conservation Management Plan and the statutory heritage controls, the platform and dumbwaiter extension represented acceptable, minimal and largely reversible interventions that provided reasonable residential amenity without adversely impacting the heritage character or significance of the State-listed heritage item or conservation areas. The Court preferred Professor MacKay's evidence that the platform was an innovative response to site levels with minimal impact on historic courtyard fabric, and that the dumbwaiter extension was unobtrusive and involved only minimal fabric removal...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
19 June 2020
Procedural Posture
Class 1 Appeals Against Refusal of Integrated Development Applications / Final Judgment and Addendum Making Final Orders
Outcome
Appeals upheld; development applications approved subject to conditions of consent.
Legal Topics
['development Consent' 'integrated Development' 'state Heritage Register Listed Terraces' 'conservation Management Plan' 'alterations and Additions' 'adaptive Reuse' 'design Excellence' 'millers Point Heritage Conservation Area']
['planning and Environment' 'heritage Conservation'] ['development Consent' 'integrated Development' 'state Heritage Register Listed Terraces' 'conservation Management Plan' 'alterations and Additions' 'adaptive Reuse' 'design Excellence' 'millers Point Heritage Conservation Area']

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Procedural Posture

Class 1 Appeals Against Refusal of Integrated Development Applications / Final Judgment and Addendum Making Final Orders

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether conditional consent should be granted for amended integrated development applications for alterations and additions to 7 and 9 Dalgety Road, Millers Point.' 'Whether the prefabricated and detachable multipurpose platform in the rear courtyard of 7 Dalgety Road would have unacceptable heritage impacts.' 'Whether extending the dumbwaiter to the first floor of 7 Dalgety Road would have unacceptable heritage impacts on fabric and spaces of exceptional significance.' 'Whether the proposed works were consistent with the endorsed Conservation Management Plan, the Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012, the Sydney Development Control Plan 2012, the Burra Charter and relevant heritage objectives.']

Ratio Decidendi

Conditional consent was warranted because, after considering the Statements of Significance, the endorsed Conservation Management Plan and the statutory heritage controls, the platform and dumbwaiter extension represented acceptable, minimal and largely reversible interventions that provided reasonable residential amenity without adversely impacting the heritage character or significance of the State-listed heritage item or conservation areas. The Court preferred Professor MacKay's evidence that the platform was an innovative response to site levels with minimal impact on historic courtyard fabric, and that the dumbwaiter extension was unobtrusive and involved only minimal fabric removal...

Court Disposition

Appeals upheld; development applications approved subject to conditions of consent.

Orders

  • ['In proceedings 2018/391638, the appeal is upheld.' 'Development Application No. D/2018/981 for external and internal alterations and additions, the removal of a eucalyptus tree, and construction of a new driveway at 9 Dalgety Road, Millers Point is approved, subject to the conditions of consent set out in Annexure...