The Council officer's report referred to the EA and said
that, because the wastewater storage facility was "controlled
by" the EA, the Council should not refuse the development
application on any grounds that were within the scope of the EA.
The report also said that if the Council gave a decision contrary
to that of DEHP, then the Council would be in a position of
defending that decision to both the applicant and DEHP in the event
of an appeal. The officer's report was subsequently considered
at the Council's meeting and it was decided to approve the
application.
The point raised in the Originating Application was that Council
had abrogated its responsibility to assess the development
application. The error alleged was that Council did not consider
the environmental effects of the development and instead relied
upon DEHP's assessment of those issues which lead to the
granting of the EA. As such, Council was lead into procedural error
by the report prepared by its
