A DA for a home and pool in Bundengore was approved by the council, but the construction damaged the town’s infrastructure. Photo: Michael Weaver.
The construction works for a house and swimming pool in the NSW town of Bungendore resulted in nearly $100,000 worth of damage to the local council’s stormwater and sewerage infrastructure.
Alaa Abutaleb Pty Ltd was ordered to pay $98,670 to Queanbeyan-Palerang Shire Council by the NSW Land and Environment Court’s Justice Nicola Pain earlier this month to cover the council’s costs of fixing the damage, as revealed in a recently published court decision.
In 2023, the council approved a development application (DA) to build a double-storey residential house and pool at the property on Nelson Terrace, Bungendore, with the works valued at almost $2.5 million.
Council staff undertook eight site inspections starting from later that year and said they saw that extensive earthworks to the property’s lot had substantially damaged the stormwater and sewerage infrastructure in the council’s drainage easement.
This infrastructure had been rendered unusable at several nearby lots.
The council undertook emergency work to fix the damage, including batter slope regrading, sewer protection measures and temporary stormwater works.
The work cost $98,670.35, which the council paid to civil engineering contractors.
The council began civil enforcement proceedings against Alaa Abutaleb Pty Ltd, which is listed as a company in the court’s published decision, in 2024 claiming there had been multiple breaches of the DA.
Justice Pain said orders were made earlier this year requiring the company to demolish existing walls and construct alternative works, then as no-one from the company attended the breach proceedings, they were conducted ex-parte.
A council officer told the court there were several breaches by Alaa Abutaleb Pty Ltd at the property.
These included how the council had no record of a construction certificate, no record of a principal certifying authority (PCA) being appointed before the building began, no record of an approved sediment and erosion control plan and no written notice from a PCA identifying the principal contractor, licence and insurance details.
Justice Pain said the council had established there were multiple breaches of the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 by Alaa Abutaleb Pty Ltd and they resulted in substantial impacts on the council’s infrastructure and neighbouring lots.
“[Alaa Abutaleb Pty Ltd] has participated through legal representatives for much of the proceedings. That it chose not to appear at the final hearing is not a reason not to make the declaration sought,” she said.
In addition to repaying the council the costs of the repairs, Alaa Abutaleb Pty Ltd was ordered to pay the council’s legal costs for the proceedings.
