No Comments

Removal of Shrubs to Prevent Consents from Lapsing

The Court of Appeal (Court) in recent judgment of Cardo Management and Maintenance Pty Ltd v Cumberland Council [2019] has established an easier criteria to prevent a lapse of consent, assisting developers and landowners in protecting their development rights. Section 4.53 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (Act) stipulates that a development consent for the erection of a building, subdivision of land or the carrying out of work will lapse if no physical commencement of the development occurs after 5 years. [...]  READ MORE →

No Comments

What part of the Pasteurised Garden Organic Order and Exemption applies to Council and what requirements are expected from Council?

The Mulch Order 2016 applies to unpasteurised/raw mulch which by virtue of the nature and source of the plant material, poses minimal risk of the presence of physical and chemical contaminants and does not include plant material obtained from kerbside waste collection.  Whilst the need for pasteurisation may be dispensed with on the tree clippings obtained from Council’s tree maintenance operations and as such this mulch will only be subject to the provisions in the Mulch Order 2016 and Mulch Exemption 2016 [Click here to see our article: “How do the new Mulch Order and Exemption 2016 impact on Councils’ tree maintenance operations?” https://www.matthewsfolbigg.com.au/news/local-government/new-mulch-order-exemption-2016-impact-councils-tree-maintenance-operations/]. However, if the plant material used for mulch also contains kerbside waste collection or tree material that has a significant risk of contaminants, mulch processed from such a mixed source may pose a risk of the presence of contaminants and therefore falls outside the definition of mulch in the Mulch Order 2016. Mulch of this kind is regulated by Pasteurised Garden Organic Order 2016 (PGOO) and Pasteurised Garden Organic Exemption 2016 (PGOE). [...]  READ MORE →