Magill man wins Environment Court battle to move neighbour’s rainwater tank
It took a torrent of cash on legal bills and grabbed national headlines but a Magill man has finally won a court order to move his neighbour’s imposing new rainwater tank – a little bit.
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A Magill resident who returned from holiday to find a colossal rainwater tank next to his house has won an expensive fight to have it moved.
Branko Soda, 56, has obtained a court order overturning planning approval given by Campbelltown Council for the 46,000 litre green plastic tank.
The Environment, Resources and Development Court has told Mr Soda’s neighbour, Bayden Greer, he must move the tank at least 800mm by November.
Mr Soda launched a legal challenge after council planning officers retrospectively approved the 3.4m high tank last November.
They had visited his property after Mr Soda returned from an interstate holiday to find the tank had been put next to his house, blocking the view from its front veranda.
Mr Greer was told to seek planning approval for the tank because of its size and proximity to Mr Soda’s house, which was 600mm.
Mr Soda said he had spent at least $6500 appealing the council’s decision to approve the tank.
“It has cost me a lot of money which I shouldn’t have needed to spend,” he said.
“While the court order says he has to move it at least 800mm, my neighbour has agreed to move it by 2.5 metres further north and at least another 600mm from our boundary,” he said.
“The whole point of this is that it should never have got approval in the first place.
“I don’t know if I have really won or lost but we seemed to have made some progress.”
Asked if he was going to try to recover his legal costs from the council, Mr Branko said he had sought legal advice but had decided to call it quits.
“I have spent a lot of money to really achieve very little so now I just want to move on and put it behind me,” he said.
Mr Soda’s eight-month battle against the tank attracted national publicity, with divided opinions across Adelaide and the country.
“Thousands of people agreed it was too close to my veranda while others thought it wasn’t a problem,” he said.
“I’m really grateful for those who supported me, especially the people who put in submissions saying it should be moved.
“As for those who came to the conclusion it was okay I’m not sure what is wrong with them.
“I would like to see what would they say if the same thing happened to them”
Mr Soda said he regretted not pushing for the tank to be moved further away from his house during private mediation hearings at the ERD Court.
“I should have gone a lot harder and dug in more but I just got fed up with having to argue about it,” he said.
“At least now it has to be moved, not as far as I would have liked but at least I will get some of my view back.”
Mr Soda said creepers had to be planted to screen the tank as part of the court order while Mr Greer also had voluntarily started to erect a 2.8m high fence.
Mr Greer has repeatedly declined to comment.