Telado Pty Ltd v Sydney Metro; CFT No. 8 Pty Ltd v Sydney Metro

2025/00212138; 2025/00212160

LAND & ENVIRONMENT– Telado Pty Ltd (Telado) was the owner in fee simple of 48 Hunter Street, Sydney (48 Hunter) – CFT No. 8 Pty Ltd (CFT 8) was the owner in fee simple of 28 O’Connell Street, Sydney (28 O’Connell) – on 2 September 2022, Sydney Metro compulsorily acquired 48 Hunter and 28 O’Connell (together, the Acquired Land) by notice in the NSW Government Gazette – the Acquired Land was situated at the corner of Hunter and O’Connell Street in the Sydney CBD, adjoining 33 Bligh Street (33 Bligh St) to the north – on 23 December 2022, Sydney Metro offered Telado compensation of $49,582,003, as determined by the Valuer-General under s 42(1) of the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991 (NSW) (Just Terms Act), comprising $49,000,000 for market value and $582,003 for disturbance-related losses – Sydney Metro also offered CFT 8 compensation of $128,082,003 for 28 O’Connell –Telado objected to the compensation, initially claiming $71,017,921.96 (later amended to $110,964,384) – CFT 8 also objected, claiming $203,680,917.04 (later amended to $320,235,616) – the key issues before the primary judge were whether the highest and best use of the Acquired Land was a combined redevelopment with 33 Bligh St, considering zoning potential, market value impacts, and whether the acquisition of 33 Bligh St should be disregarded under s 56(1)(a) of the Just Terms Act – the primary judge held that the Acquired Land was acquired for Metro West, while 33 Bligh St was acquired for two distinct public purposes (Metro West and Metro CSW) and determined the market value of the Acquired Land to be $200 million, split between Telado ($53.75M) and CFT 8 ($146.25M) – whether the primary judge erred in law by identifying the public purpose of the acquisition of 33 Bligh Street by reference to individual projects (namely, the Sydney Metro West and Sydney Metro City and Southwest projects), contrary to the correct approach, which requires the identification of the public purpose by reference to the Transport Administration Act 1988 (NSW), which empowers the respondent to acquire land for the purposes of designing, constructing, developing and operating a single metro system – whether the primary judge erred in law by failing to find that the existence of an additional stated purpose for the acquisition of 33 Bligh Street (the Sydney Metro City and Southwest project) did not neutralise or defeat the application of the statutory disregard in s 56(1)(a) of the Just Terms Act where both 33 Bligh Street and 48 Hunter Street were acquired for the common public purpose of the Sydney Metro West project. 

Telado Pty Ltd; CFT No. 8 Pty Ltd v Sydney Metro [2025] NSWLEC 42