Pikes & Verekers Lawyers acted for the City of Botany Council where it successfully resisted an appeal against the refusal of development consent for a 12 storey hotel at Mascot.

The primary issue before the Court was whether the proposed building was of a suitable bulk and scale in circumstances where the application proposed more than double the permissible floor space for the site under relevant planning instruments.  The applicant had justified this exceedance by relying upon the site's close proximity to the airport which gave it a "gateway" status.

The Court accepted the Council's argument that the planning controls and development standards had already envisaged the site as being within a prominent location.  This meant that the argument for the gross exceedance of floor space standards was not justified or well founded.

The appeal was dismissed.

Link to Judgment