Johnson Property Group Pty Ltd v Minister for Planning

Judgment

1. COMMISSIONER: This is an appeal against the deemed refusal of an application to modify Concept Plan MP-6_0309 under s 75W of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act) to incorporate a proposed helipad adjacent to the Marina approved under that plan in Bardens Bay, Lake Macquarie. It relates to an amended proposal filed with the leave of the Court on 24 May 2019.
2. Briefly stated, the amendments at that time included:

• Restriction of the helicopter movements over the residential areas of Bardens Bay and part of Sugar Bay, identified as an "exclusion area" for all helicopters (at any height) using the helipad;
• Removal of specific flight paths and a take-off and landing area (for movements over water below 500 feet) provided to the south and east of the helipad over water;
• Restriction of daily flight movements to 6 maximum per day with a 38 movements maximum per week;
• To reflect changing helicopter types within the Australian market since the original application, the Airbus 135 has been replaced by AS 355F. This is smaller and lighter than the design helicopter for the pontoon (being the Agusta Westland AW 109) which is unchanged.
• The size of the helipad pontoon has been increased to 25m x 25m (without change to the design helicopter) with a minor shift in location of the centre of the helipad and to the minimum 30m managed safety zone, to reflect that change.
• A maximum managed safety zone is introduced to reflect detailed downwash assessment when operations occur in strong winds, being a distance measured 66.5m radius from the centre of the helipad.
• Principles 11, 14 and 15 have been included as an amendment to approved Trinity Point Concept Plan revised principles, Objectives and Urban Design Guidelines seek to: 1. reinforce environmental water management requirements for the helipad; 2. identify siting and staging of the helipad relative to the Marina; 3. reinforce the helipad exclusion and take-off and landing areas, as well as movement and timing restrictions; 4. include requirements for on-site weather station, with trained staff, to provide weather data to pilots prior to landing and departure to enable informed landing in departure decisions to be made; and 5. require various operational and management requirements to be documented with a helipad operational manual, with the manual to be approved and in place prior to commencement of the use.