Business win in Northam

A SMALL business in Northam has had a court win over the local council, in the process providing some clarity about the type and scale of business that can operate from a residential property.

The State Administrative Tribunal has overruled the Shire of Northam's decision to deny an application for a home printing business.

Mark and Raelene Potter in May 2008 applied to operate a small-scale printing operation, but council refused the application despite the shire's planning officers twice recommending approval.

The business proposed to take on small printing jobs such as business cards, letterheads and invoices, with the operation including a pick-up and delivery service.

Mr and Mrs Potter applied to print the stationery in an insulated shed at the rear of their property, on which they had spent $40,000 fitting out with machinery and an extraction fan.

However, Northam councillors and two surrounding properties were concerned with potential noise issues from machinery in operation, as well as the storage of ink and chemicals at the site.

Northam shire senior planner Chadd Hunt advised the council that, following tests for noise, the business was compliant with council policy and that he was satisfied its strategies dealing with paper waste, ink disposal and the storage of chemicals were within acceptable limits.

In undertaking this review, State Administrative Tribunal member Peter McNab overruled the council's decision when he said: "A relatively small scale printing press can, in my opinion, be quite compatible with a home business.

"In any event, there is nothing in the scale of this business operation that suggests a detrimental impact on amenity.

"Some marginal increase in noise during the day will be apparent if the door is opened from time to time, but I stress that this is marginal.

"Likewise for the chemicals to be stored on site; these will be of a very small scale and the fumes that are likely to be produced extracted from the shed are likely to be of negligible impact on immediate neighbours.

"Given the modest scale of this proposal, I also do not see the need to adopt any precautionary approach in this case."

The ruling, handed down earlier this year, also concluded that the business was consistent with the local planning framework, a specific policy dealing with home businesses.

"The policy expressly contemplated the use of non-industrial machinery," the judgement said.

"The tribunal held that the policy contemplated non-industrial small home-based businesses, such as this one."