The LEC last week upheld an appeal lodged by the developers of a 72-place childcare centre at 4 Kearney's Drive. The decision came after the last term council refused permission for a 52-place centre, agreeing with residents' concerns based on traffic, safety and noise.

The initial refusal was at odds with the recommendation for approval from council staff while the cost of defending the matter in the LEC was yet to be determined but likely to be measured in tens of thousands of dollars.

While acknowledging the expertise of council staff, Cr Whitton, who chairs council's Planning and Development Policy Committee, was disappointed with the LEC's decision.

"The LEC seems to have little respect for the representation of the councillors on the behalf of their community by not at least consulting council or the community before they allowed it to be larger than what the expectations were," he said.

Cr Whitton said he understood that when it comes to the analysis of DAs the system had to be "above reproach".

"Certainly council staff are the more qualified when it comes to evaluating whether a DA meets regulatory requirements or not - and certainly the developer has rights," he said.

"But there doesn't seem to be a mechanism in the system that allows ... those affected by a development nearby, to place submission in to council about their thoughts and the impact on them, [those submission] don't seem to carry any weight."

He also believe the experience of the councillors who refused the DA, unanimously, was ignored.

"Councillors, especially in the last council [term ending last year], you had a number of very experienced, long-term councillors in that room who understood the process of planning, backwards and forwards.

"When you have those councillors expressing concerns that [a development] is going to impact a number of things including traffic and safety concerns. Those things don't seem to carry any weight with the Land and Environment Court.

"I don't know the answer to it but I do believe that the role of local government and councillors is to represent the community and we don't do it in a way that purposely obstructs development, we do it in a sensible balanced manner."

That leaves the question of whether councillors should consider refusing a DA recommended for approval by council staff.

"This is what I've always said in the chamber, when it comes to community members who attend council meetings who believe that because council has refused an application that is in no way [an indication] that the application will not proceed.

"The information that is fed back to the community is sometimes misleading them to think that they actually have a say when they don't.

"If a developer chooses to take it to the LEC and the application has been approved by council staff it's pretty well a done deal. The LEC is going to take the merit of the fact that the DA has met all the relevant requirements because staff approved it."

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