The acquisition of the Davistown Wetlands by Central Coast Council is once more on the table, after councillors voted on August 10 to reject a staff recommendation that negotiations on buying the sensitive land back from a private developer cease.
Councillors deferred consideration of the proposed withdrawal of negotiations for 12 weeks following a successful motion from Councillor Troy Marquart.
Cr Marquart told fellow councillors that acquisition of the land was possible, despite information in the past that had made councillors think it wasn’t.
“There is $1.46M in the acquisition fund and there seems to be a hell of a lot of unanswered correspondence,” he said.
“Has the dialogue been good enough?”
Cr Marquart moved for Council to continue negotiations, with compulsory acquisition to be considered if negotiations continue to stall.
Councillor Rebecca Gale backed the motion, saying she was concerned about mixed messages out in the community and would not rule out compulsory acquisition if it came to that.
“This has been on the agenda since 1984,” she said.
Councillors voted unanimously to reject the staff recommendation, which was accompanied by a statement that agreement could not be reached for an amount that represents market value.
A representative from Illoura Waters Pty Ltd, the owner of the land, had advised that Council’s offer was rejected, the recommendation said.
“The counter-offer from Illoura Waters Pty Ltd is so far above the two independent valuations obtained by Council that it is unrealistic that a mutually agreeable price will be reached,” it said.
Council’s CEO will now continue to pursue an acquisition by agreement with the current owners and report back to Council by no later than October 26.
Davistown Progress Association President, Jenny McCulla, said residents were happy that there was finally a chance for face-to-face discussions to take place between Council and the land’s owners.
The possibility of development taking place on the land could see the already flood-prone township face even more extensive flooding, she said.
“The successful motion includes an option for compulsory acquisition, but only if it’s needed,” McCulla said.
“Hopefully it won’t be required, but we must get our wetlands back into public hands for any real protection to take place.
“Let’s hope they get those talks underway soon so ‘a fairer go’ can prevail and an appropriate compromise can be reached.
“We need (the acquisition) to happen – to protect both the biodiversity and our properties from any more flooding following some of the ‘east-coast lows’ of recent years.
“We are also pleased that a ‘last ditch’ opportunity remains open to help protect these very valuable natural community assets.
“Who, in this day and age, allows ever diminishing wetlands to be sold off?”
Terry Collins