The applicant’s proposal to carry out the development of a caravan park was refused by the Wollondilly Shire Council. The Court upheld this refusal due to the noise impact of nearby colliery activities and the impact on the Shale Sandstone Transitional Forest, an endangered ecological forest community situated at the site. Due to the fact that the development would cause the removal or modification of vegetation at the site, the Court also held that the development application needs to be accompanied by a Species Impact Statement (SIS) according to s 78A(8)(b) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. In deciding this, the Court followed the precautionary principle arguing that there is an absence of countervailing evidence concerning the impact on the endangered community.