L E X L O C I ’ S T RAVELS 2 6 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6

An ad-hoc one-pager from The Public Land Consultancy Lex in Soho (Geelong, not London or Manhattan )

Well, there’s a Soho in London, and Alesios claimed that the development a SoHo in Manhattan – so why had no access rights to the lane, and the shouldn’t there be a Soho in Geelong? projecting balconies would be trespass. It’s aptly named. You find this twenty- City of Greater Geelong saw the apartment development up a dead-end situation differently. They argued that lane off a narrow street, reminiscent of the lane had become a ‘public highway’ the urban fusions that characterise its under the common law of dedication Northern hemisphere counterparts. and acceptance – even though the Maybe there’s a jazz club in the basement dedication had been implied rather but Lex isn’t sure about that. than express. VCAT agreed*. The denizens of Soho (Geelong) may not Therefore the lane did not belong to appreciate ’s difficult gestation. Alesios Fishing P/L, but to Council – At one stage it found itself in VCAT – not courtesy of amendments made to the because of a planning matter as such, but Local Government Act 1989 in 1993. because of a ‘preliminary legal point.’ So Alesios had been sold a pup. NAB Was the lane in question actually a lane? had been dispossessed of the lane by And who actually owned it? Parliament five years before the On title, McLarty Place was owned by purported sale. Nobody had told them. Alesios Fishing Pty Ltd, which had Lex says – Surely we shouldn’t have to purchased it and other nearby land from go into court to figure out who owns the National Australia Bank in 1998. laneways!

See you there! Lex Loci

* Greater Geelong v Alesios Fishing, VCAT (30 Sept 2000) Photos from Google Streetview

The Public Land Consultancy 27 / 539 St Kilda Road postal: PO Box 2251 ABN 69 067 045 520 , VIC 3004 St Kilda West, VIC 3182 Principal: David Gabriel-Jones phone: (03) 9534 5128 mobile: 0412 134 243 Email: [email protected] www.publicland.com.au