Applicant to take Killcare fence dispute to court

Mr Tony Denny has said he will take an ongoing fence dispute to the Land and Environment Court after Central Coast Council rejected his application for a fence at Wards Hill Rd, Killcare Heights, on January 29.

Mr Denny had asked for retrospective approval for one section of the fence which was put up without council approval and permission to move another section of the fence back to two metres to allow screening vegetation in front of it.

He said in a social media post after the council meeting that a case had already been lodged at court and he estimated the cost to the community would be in excess of $50,000.

He said the money could have been put to far better use than losing a court case.

He thanked the council staff for their report recommending his fence be approved.

The application went to council for the third time on January 29.

After debate, the 1.8m sheet steel fence was rejected due to it being not compatible with the desired character of the scenic buffer precinct of Killcare Heights.

Other reasons included because it wasn't in the public interest and because landscaping could not be relied on to cover the undesirable "unrelieved metal sheeting" and because the fence did not comply with the Development Control Plan for the area.

Councillors who voted to allow the fence to remain were Liberals Tory Marquart and Jilly Pillon and independents Chris Holstein, Bruce McLachlan and Greg Best.

Those who voted against the fence were ALP councillors Richard Mehrtens, Jeff Sundstrom, Lisa Matthews, Kyle MacGregor, Doug Vincent, Gillian Hogan and independents Louise Greenaway and mayor Cr Jane Smith.

A number of people spoke at the residents' forum before the meeting both in support and against the fence.

Two speakers spoke for the applicant.

One suggested the fence being set back two metres meant it was no longer a boundary fence but an ancillary structure.

The second speaker said he supported the fence and that drivers should have their eyes on the road, not on the fence, to laughter from the gallery.

Killcare-Wagstaffe Community Association president Ms Peta Colebatch drew applause from the public for her speech opposing the fence.

Afterwards she said the association was pleased council upheld the planning provisions and listened to the concerns of the residents.

"However the fence still remains, and although we have written to Mr Denny for the third time, offering to meet to see if we can arrive at a mutually acceptable approach, we understand that he has now lodged an appeal against the Council decision, so we fear that the issue is not yet resolved and will drag on,'' she said.

SOURCE:

Central Coast Council agenda 2.3 and 2.4, 29 Jan, 2019

Email, 5 Feb, 2019

Peta Colebatch, WTKCA

Social media, 30 Jan 2019

Tony Denny, Killcare Heights

Reporter: Merilyn Vale