Northcape Properties Pty Ltd v District Council of Yorke Peninsula.

Northcape Properties Pty Ltd proposed to subdivide a large area of coastal land on the Yorke Peninsula into 80 allotments. The subject land was predominantly made up of vegetated sand dunes. The Council refused the development application and Northcape appealed that decision to the Environment, Resources and Development Court, who dismissed the appeal. Northcape then appealed to the Supreme Court of South Australia where the case was again dismissed. The Court found that the development would not conform to the prescribed planning provisions, which required a reserve along the sea frontage and an erosion buffer to ensure public access to the coast and protection of the development from coastal hazards. If changes in flood patterns and sea levels brought about by climate change were taken in to account, the development could not conform with these requirements. Expert evidence stated that the foreshore line would shift in 30-40 metres over the next 100 years, which meant that the coastal reserve would in time be lost, as it would eventually be required as an erosion buffer and the community would lose access to their coast.