So v Blacktown City Council

COURT OR TRIBUNAL

New South Wales Land and Environment Court

DATE FILED (OR FIRST HEARING DATE)

15/11/2021

LITIGATION TYPE

Project Approval - Adaptation

SUBJECT MATTER

Flood risk

REVIEW TYPE

Merits review

SUMMARY

DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION – childcare centre – flooding impact and reliance on modelling – appropriateness of mitigation design – consideration of site suitability due to flooding impact

“I prefer Mr Almoil’s assessment that the site is affected by major drainage-overland flooding. I recognise that this criterion is not mapped on Council’s online mapping, which I consider is not reliable, because it does not represent the actual flood conditions experienced on the site, as agreed by the experts. It is recognised that flood conditions change over time due to development in the surrounding area and climate change impacts, and also that the flood prone area mapping generally focuses on mainstream flooding. Therefore, I rely on the evidence of the experts on the actual flood conditions on the site, rather than the mapping in the SEPP Growth Centres and Council online tool in this instance.”

CASE DOCUMENTS

So v Blacktown City Council [2023] NSWLEC 1020