'Design excellence' is a term used in planning
instruments to group the range of requirements intended to ensure
the delivery of development characterised by a high standard of
design. In a recent development appeal to the NSW Land and
Environment Court (Court), a development
application (DA) was refused on the basis that the
proposal lacked 'design excellence', the satisfaction of
which for certain development, is a jurisdictional prerequisite to
the granting of development consent.
The case before the Court,
Margetic v Blue Mountains City Council [2022] NSWLEC
1618, commenced following Blue Mountains City Council's
(Council) refusal of a DA seeking consent for the
construction of a two-storey boarding house in the suburb of
Springwood.
