Coffs Harbour City Council v Noubia Pty Ltd

(2024) 258 LGERA 351; [2024] NSWCA 19

NSW Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Valuation of Land
2. › Compulsory acquisition
3. › Compensation
4. › Land transferred to public authority as condition of development consent
5. › Land valued according to principles of compulsory acquisition
6. › Construction of s 56(1)(a) of Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991 (NSW)
7. › Determination of market value
8. › Statutory disregard
9. › Decrease in land value attributed to public purpose
10. › Identification of public purpose at appropriate level of generality
1. Valuation of Land
2. › Compulsory acquisition
3. › Compensation
4. › Statutory disregard under s 56(1)(a)
5. › Causation
6. › Whether public purpose caused decrease in land's value
7. › Where owners sought and obtained development consent
8. › Whether owners proved decrease in value by comparison with hypothetical use which would have occurred but for public purpose
9. › Whether changes in value caused by owner's own design choices can be attributed to public purpose
10. › Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991 (NSW), s 56(1)(a)
1. Valuation of Land
2. › Compulsory acquisition
3. › Compensation
4. › Proof of decrease in value
5. › Whether court required to reach factual conclusion on balance of probabilities
6. › Whether hypothetical alternative development would have been approved
7. › Whether test is what hypothetical purchaser would have thought likely
8. › Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991 (NSW), ss 54, 55, 56

Quick Take

The statutory disregard in s 56(1)(a) does not apply where the decrease in land value results from the developer's own design choices rather than the council's public purpose, and the developer bears the onus of proving a direct causal connection between the public purpose and any decrease in value.