Councillors heard that part of the same belt of asbestos that was exposed and had to be managed during construction of the bypass would also be disturbed if the subdivision was approved.

The exacerbating factor was that disturbance through earthworks and a possible health risk could not be confined to a short period if blocks were sold and houses were built over several years.

There could be no guarantees how long dust control measures would have to be kept in place. 

In light of other parcels of land expected to come onto the market through subdivision work south of Orange, it was hard to make a case that would justify possible health risks to neighbours in Daydawn Place.

But there was another reason to refuse the subdivision and that was its clash with the purpose of the original subdivision, which was to offer a rural lifestyle.

Residents who argued they should be able to profit from subdividing their blocks either misunderstood the purpose of the original subdivision or gambled on being able to convince the council to go through with the changes. 

It is a gamble they lost.

For a council to radically redraw the lot sizes in this situation would be a betrayal of residents and its own processes unless it had unanimous resident support and a compelling planning reason, such as an acute shortage of the block size in question.

On Tuesday this newspaper argued that landowners’ rights to certainty were under siege. 

Tuesday night’s decision is a signal that they do have allies in a stand against unreasonable change.