Court grants consent for 37-unit Castle Hill block after appeal

Why it matters

The appeal was brought as a deemed refusal. The record shows the development application was lodged on 20 March 2026 and notified from 31 March to 4 May 2026, with nil submissions. Zenith Grange filed the appeal on 1 June 2026 under section 8.7 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act.

The parties then went to a conciliation conference on 15 September and 5 November 2026. The judgment does not itemise the council’s original contentions. It says the parties resolved them through a redesign of the vehicle entry ramps and revised landscaping that increases deep soil, made possible by changes to the basement.

The Court then decided the jurisdictional matters, including the Housing SEPP, the Biodiversity SEPP and the Transport and Infrastructure SEPP. It also accepted a clause 4.6 request to vary the height standard under The Hills Local Environmental Plan 2019, on the basis that the non-compliance is minor and does not cause adverse visual, overshadowing or privacy impacts.

The numbers

The proposal involves demolition of existing structures and construction of a six-storey residential flat building with rooftop communal open space, 37 units and two basement levels of car parking.

The maximum height sought is 23.81m against a 22.75m limit. The judgment records that as 1.06m, or 4.66%, over the standard.

Affordable housing is part of the package: at least 15% of gross floor area is to be provided for 15 years, managed by a registered community housing provider.

The orders, as written in the judgment, are that the appeal is upheld, the applicant’s clause 4.6 written request is upheld, and the development application is “determined by the grant of consent subject to the conditions set out in Annexure A”. The applicant must also pay the council’s costs of $6,000 within 28 days. The judgment records those costs as arising from the amendment to the proposal.

What’s next

With consent granted, the conditions in Annexure A of the judgment now govern the development. The judgment does not state a construction start date, a builder or a project value, and none is reported here.

The judgment shows the council’s solicitors as Marsdens Law Group and the applicant’s as McKees Legal Solutions.

Another Hills Shire appeal was settled earlier this week in the Rouse Hill warehouse units consent. The Australian Developer will report any construction certificate or further filings for the site if they appear on the public record.