The recent sale of four blocks of land on Thompson Vale Road at Doyalson has increased Central Coast Council’s land asset sales proceeds to over $62 million but has drawn the ire of environmental groups.
The land at Doyalson sold for a combined $5.5 million according to Council Administrator, Rik Hart.
Hart said the sale would help bolster Council’s financial sustainability into the future.
“The sale of underperforming land assets, or assets which are surplus to current or future needs, has been a foundational pillar of Council’s financial recovery and strengthens Council’s financial sustainability into the future,” Mr Hart said.
“Council has undertaken due diligence in all sales, including the review of sites against Council resolutions and historical records, abiding by all legislative requirements, and conducting extensive community consultation to ensure the community has had the chance to be part of the decision-making process.
But environmental group, CEN, described the land sale as “an insult to the community”.
“The fire sale of environmentally valuable land at Thompson Vale Road, Doyalson, for $1.5 million less than it was purchased for by Wyong Council in 2014 is an insult to the intelligence of Central Coast residents and ratepayers,” said CEN Chair, Gary Chestnut.
“This land should never have been included in Tranche 1 of Council’s asset sales program.
“It includes multiple Ecologically Endangered Communities (EECs) and is part of an essential wildlife corridor.”
Chestnut said the Tranche 1 asset sales were rushed through with no time for meaningful community consultation and that CEN had asked the Administrator to reconsider the sale of the Doyalson land.
CEN also wrote to both the Local Government Minister and the Commissioner of the Central Coast Council Public Inquiry seeking to prevent the sale of the land.
“Mr Hart refused to reconsider the matter and neither the Minister nor the Public Inquiry Commissioner responded to our concerns,” he said.
“The transaction has been labelled ‘commercial in confidence’ so we do not know the sale price, terms of the contract, the purchaser, or the reason for an extended settlement period.”
According to CEN, the land was acquired by Wyong Shire Council in June 2014 for $7 million and that Council had a stated objective of not allowing development on the land which contains Spring Creek Wetland.
In terms of biodiversity, Chestnut says, this is a significant area, with records of many ecologically endangered communities (EEC) of animals and plants and slopes covered in a woodland type which is found locally only in the north of the Shire.
Given the presence of the EEC, multiple threatened species and frog habitat over a large area, CEN believes the biodiversity credits would be worth between $22.4 million to $33.7 million.
Local environmental advocate, Joy Cooper, echoed these concerns in the public forum session at the Council meeting on Tuesday, 26 July.
But Hart said that the sale price of $5.5M matched an independent valuation and that its value reflected the lack of development opportunity for the asset.
He said during the Council meeting that he had checked records relating to prior acquisition of the land by Wyong Council and that this suggested the Wyong Council had believed, at the time of its purchase, that the land could be developed for industrial use.
“The purchasers of these land assets are bound by all zoning and usage requirements, including any applicable environmental zoning.”
For more information about the Asset Sales Program including detailed frequently asked questions (FAQs), search ‘Financial Recovery Plan’ at centralcoast.nsw.gov.au.
CCN