Weed eradication and land preparation works that are a necessary and intrinsic part of a development can constitute substantial commencement under s 53(5) of LUPA, even where they do not require separate planning approval and are also required under other instruments such as a Crown lease; propositions from other jurisdictions about unequivocal referability and the need for separate approval are factors in the assessment, not binding exclusionary rules.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 2 later cases that cite this judgment.