The Carltona principle does not extend to decisions of local councils; where a council (as distinct from a delegate) makes a development consent decision, the councillors must themselves have before them the material necessary to discharge the statutory obligation to consider relevant matters under s 79C(1). An officer's undisclosed consideration of a relevant matter cannot satisfy the council's obligation. The presumption of regularity applies only to formal requirements and cannot be relied upon to establish that a council gave substantive consideration to a relevant matter. Where a council's decision-making process has miscarried on a matter central to the evaluation of environmental impact, the court should declare the consent invalid rather than exercise the s 25B power to suspend it.
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