Australia, June 20 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on May 19:

1. COMMISSIONER: This is an appeal against the determination of Cessnock City Council to grant development consent for the construction of a dwelling house at 860 Old Maitland Road, Bishops Bridge, subject to conditions. The applicants were dissatisfied with conditions 9 and 12A, which required the registration of a positive covenant for the protection of native vegetation and the preparation of a Vegetation Management Plan, prior to the issue of a construction certificate. The appeal is lodged pursuant to s 8.7 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act). In exercising the functions of the consent authority on the appeal, the Court has the power to determine the development application pursuant to ss 4.15 and 4.16 of the EPA Act. The final orders in this appeal, outlined in [8] below, are made as a result of an agreement between the parties that was reached at a conciliation conference.

2. The Court was required to arrange a conciliation conference between the parties, pursuant to s 34AA(2)(a) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (LEC Act). The conciliation conference commenced on 20 May 2025. I presided over the conciliation conference.

3. At the conciliation conference, an agreement under s 34(3) of the LEC Act was reached between the parties as to the terms of a decision in the proceedings that was acceptable to the parties. The agreement reflects that which was filed on 12 May 2025.

4. The decision agreed upon is for the grant of development consent subject to conditions of consent that require the public positive covenant over part of the site (rather than the whole site), and that allow the applicants time and flexibility concerning the implementation of the Vegetation Management Plan. The conditions also contain some other changes that cause them to differ from those that formed part of the Council's determination the subject of the appeal. The signed agreement is supported by a Jurisdictional Statement (provided on 20 May 2025) that sets out a number of jurisdictional pre-requisites to the grant of development consent (the Statement). I have considered the contents of the Statement, together with the documents referred to therein, the Class 1 Application and its attachments, and the respondent's Record of Assessment updated on 8 May 2024 with a peer review on 20 May 2024 (Final Record of Assessment). Based on those documents, I have considered the matters required to be considered pursuant to s 4.15(1) of the EPA Act.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/196eb858dc56d97b90f27fae)

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