CARPORT DISASTER: Demolish it or face court, says council

AN EAST Lismore couple will be forced to decide between demolishing their carport or a legal battle after this council decision.

DECISION: Lismore City Council has voted that this carport in Nielsen St, East Lismore, will need to be removed, demolished or altered in order to be made compliant. Picture: Contributed

AN EAST Lismore couple will be forced to decide whether to tear down their new $9000 carport or take legal action, after the council refused to approve the non-compliant structure.

In 2017 Connie and Raymond Sporne built a carport, but it was later discovered it did not meet its development application approval requirements.

At the council's May meeting, Mrs Sporne told councillors the situation had caused the couple an "enormous amount of stress and costs".

The Spornes' neighbour, Janine Wilson, addressed councillors at that same meeting, telling them the carport blocked their views and reflected noise.

"We used to sit out at our front table, it was the only place we had with privacy, we used drink our coffee, do crosswords and have lunch, now all we see is a grey metal structure," she said.

Following an eight-month process, councillors this month voted to reject the Spornes' application to approve the modifications.

The refusal was based on the grounds that councillors were "not satisfied that the proposed modifications is of minimal environmental impact and is not substantially the same as the original motion".

Cr Darlene Cook said the problem arose after there were changes between the approved DA and the construction certificate.

"Once the problem had been identified the applicant should have come back to council then and asked for a modification of the design before construction," she said.

"They failed to do so, they proceeded to construct the carport with significant variations to heights, the roof pitch, the boundary setback and then they want us to approve the amended design after construction."

At the May meeting councillors voted to grant the carport owners a two-month extension to sort out the problem, but Cr Cook said during that time the applicant had brought no new information to council.

Cr Moorehouse suggested moving a motion to simply approve the modifications application "so we can all move on with our lives", but councillors instead voted to deny the application.

Following council's decision, the property owners will now be forced to follow compliance action to have the current carport removed, demolished or otherwise altered to ensure it complies with the original approved DA.

The decision states council is also prepared for court proceedings if necessary.