Background
The applicant, Ingleburn Rd 149 Pty Ltd ATF Crown Trust 52, lodged Development Application DA/2025/243/1 with Camden Council seeking consent for a staged residential development at 100, 118, and 130 Byron Road, Leppington. The proposed works included demolition of existing structures, removal of trees and vegetation, dam dewatering, site remediation, and subdivision to create residential lots, together with the construction of attached, detached, and semi-detached dwellings, roads, drainage, and associated works.
Camden Council deemed and subsequently actually refused the application. The applicant appealed to the Land and Environment Court under s 8.7 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW). An initial conciliation conference across three sessions in late 2025 and early 2026 was unsuccessful, and the matter was listed for hearing. At that hearing, however, the parties advised the Court they had resolved their differences and requested a further conciliation conference under s 34(1) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (NSW), which was held on 1 June 2026.
At that second conciliation conference the parties reached agreement, with the Council consenting to the applicant amending the development application under s 38 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021 (NSW) to address outstanding contentions. The amended proposal resulted in 89 Torrens title lots, 100 community title lots, 2 road-dedication lots, and 151 dwellings across multiple stages.
The Court’s Holding
Commissioner Washington upheld the appeal and granted development consent to the amended application, subject to conditions in Annexure A. Under s 34(3) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (NSW), the Commissioner was required to dispose of the proceedings in accordance with the parties’ agreed decision, provided it was one the Court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions. After examining each jurisdictional prerequisite, the Commissioner was satisfied that threshold was met.
The Commissioner confirmed that the site is zoned R3 Medium Density Residential under the Camden Growth Centres Precinct Plan 2025, applied via the State Environmental Planning Policy (Precincts – Western Parkland City) 2021, and that the proposed dwelling types are permissible with consent. Variations from minimum lot-size standards for certain dwelling-house lots were found to be authorised by specific provisions of the Precinct Plan (ss 4.1AD and 4.1AF). The Commissioner also accepted the parties’ joint interpretation that minimum lot size for attached dwellings is assessed on the combined area of all Torrens title lots encompassing the whole building, and that all attached dwelling lots satisfied that standard.
The Commissioner was further satisfied that requirements under applicable state environmental planning policies — including those addressing biodiversity and conservation (water quality, aquatic ecology, flood), resilience and hazards (site contamination and remediation), sustainable buildings (BASIX), and transport and infrastructure (Essential Energy notification) — had been met by the amended application and agreed conditions of consent.
Key Takeaways
- A conciliation conference under s 34 of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (NSW) can resolve a deemed-refusal planning appeal: once the parties agree on acceptable consent terms and the Court confirms jurisdictional prerequisites are satisfied, it must give effect to that agreement.
- Minimum lot-size standards in a Growth Centres Precinct Plan are not absolute barriers; specific variation pathways within the plan (here ss 4.1AD and 4.1AF) can authorise smaller dwelling-house lots where prescribed criteria are met.
- For attached dwellings held on separate Torrens title lots, the minimum lot size may be assessed against the combined area of all lots forming the whole building footprint — a statutory interpretation accepted by the Court here.
- Contaminated land is not a bar to development consent where a detailed site investigation and remediation action plan demonstrates the land will be made suitable for its intended residential use, with remediation secured by conditions of consent.
Why It Matters
This decision illustrates the practical utility of the Land and Environment Court’s conciliation jurisdiction in resolving complex, multi-issue residential subdivision appeals in New South Wales growth areas. By facilitating a negotiated outcome — including a formal amendment to the application — the Court avoided a contested hearing on a substantial greenfield project delivering 241 lots and 151 dwellings in the Western Parkland City.
The case also provides useful guidance for practitioners navigating lot-size controls in Growth Centres Precinct Plans, confirming that variation pathways and combined-lot interpretations for attached dwellings are available tools when individual Torrens title lots fall below minimum thresholds, and that compliance with BASIX, biodiversity, contamination, and essential-services requirements must be demonstrated before consent can be granted on a conciliated basis.