Head and Humphreys Surveyors (www.hhsurvey.com.au) sought the subdivision of existing dwellings on the above property. Manningham City Council refused the application. The existing dwellings (circa 1996) were of a contemporary design and adjoined by decks with each being owned by brother and sister.

Flannery Court was created in 1965 (10 x 5 acres lot) and over the next 30 years the sites and others were gradually subdivided (17 subdivisions in total) into 0.4 ha lots. The Council refused the application based on neighbourhood character in that the irregular shape of the lots would be at odds with the surrounds.

Examination of the site and surrounds revealed that:

• The subdivision of two existing dwellings into individual lots cannot impact on the residential character. The character of this site has been established since the construction of these dwellings in 1996;
• The visual characteristics of the site cannot change by the approval of a subdivision. The envelopes both existing and proposed are located within that part of the site that has been cleared, so the “character” of the site and dwellings located within a treed environment would not change;
• The visual characteristics of the site and surrounds cannot be modified by the subdivision of the site.