A LEGAL brothel has been given the go-ahead to open in Hams Street after an 18-month battle with Griffith City Council.
Following a hearing in December, the NSW Land and Environment Court handed down its ruling on Thursday, overturning council’s rejection of a development
application for the controversial business.
The court’s ruling comes just weeks after council ordered the closure of another brothel, which had been operating illegally from a local motel.
Councillors voted against the Hams Street development based on planning guidelines which state such establishments must be 200m away from any place likely to be visited by children.
A dance school catering for children is 240 metres away by road, but well within 200 metres radius of the brothel site.
Commissioner of the Court, Sue Morris, ruled that the most appropriate method of measuring was the distance walked between the two buildings – and that distance was sufficient to separate the conflicting businesses.
Council has not counted the cost of the court proceedings as yet but it is expected to be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
“Council is disappointed that the appeal has been upheld and the development will be allowed to go ahead,” council general manager Brett Stonestreet said.
“Given that, we have no option but to comply and we will look to enforce the conditions of consent.
“We were interested to see that the council policy was not dismissed outright, it was just that the court’s interpretation of the distance factor was different.”
Mr Stonestreet said council would consider changing its policy to clearly define the distance regulations.
A spokesperson for Sky Night Angels, the proponent in the case, said the judgement had highlighted the point that brothels could be appropriately located, despite people’s moral beliefs.
“We’re obviously pleased with the judgement handed down by the court,” the spokesperson said.
“It’s just disappointing that council chose to refuse the DA and weren’t willing to change their mind when we
indicated that we would challenge their decision in the Land and Environment Court.
“In doing so, council has unfortunately spent a considerable amount of money and staff resources defending a decision that we believed, from the outset, was incorrect.”
The ruling has set a precedent for cases involving sensitive land use after the commissioner stated she was comfortable with her judgement, even if she had interpreted the measurement of distance incorrectly, because any children attending the dance school would be unlikely to pass the brothel site.
Email a friend