A preferred route for the bypass was locked in late last year. Image: Transport for NSW.
A coastal council has been told to hand over three properties to make way for a long-awaited bypass – and it won’t be the only landowner to have its land acquired during the project.
Shoalhaven City Council (SCC) owns three sites – in Ulladulla, Milton and Mollymook – in the way of the planned Milton-Ulladulla Bypass, which the NSW Government will compulsorily acquire.
Once completed, the 12-kilometre project will allow motorists travelling along the Princes Highway to bypass the town centres of Milton and Ulladulla.
“Compulsory acquisition of council’s land by TfNSW [Transport for NSW] is required to deliver the Princes Highway bypass around the Milton and Ulladulla townships,” council papers state.
“Council’s interests have been considered and there is minimal risk associated with the compulsory acquisitions.”
Key design features of the route for the Milton-Ulladulla bypass were locked in late last year, with the project given a $940 million price tag.
Two of the council sites are operational land, while the third is community land.
The government is seeking to acquire a 240 square metre section of what SCC documents label as being a “disused sanitary depot” on Slaughterhouse Road in Milton.
That site, along with land off the Princes Highway at Ulladulla, is classed as operational land.
The land off the highway is about 45 square metres in area and vacant (SCC had acquired it for an adjoining sewage pumping station).
The largest site, classified as community land, is a public reserve (3150 square metres) on Bishop Drive in Mollymook.
Once acquired by the government, the sites will become part of the highway’s layout and adjoining intersections.
“Under Section 45(1) of the Local Government Act 1993, council has no power to sell, exchange or otherwise dispose of community land,” meeting papers reveal.
“Consequently, TfNSW must utilise its authority under Section 177 of the Roads Act 1993 (NSW) to compulsorily acquire the land as permitted … There are no statutory restrictions for council to sell land classified as operational land.”
According to council papers, there is a minimum six-month negotiation period under law.
During that time, TfNSW and the council will independently value the land.
“In the event negotiation has not been reached by this process, the acquiring authority can rely on section 19 of the act to compulsorily acquire land by gazette notice,” council meeting papers outline.
SCC will also be reimbursed for its “reasonable legal, valuation and other costs” from the acquisition process.
A TfNSW spokesperson confirmed further acquisitions were on the cards, saying this would be required for the project.
“Transport has minimised property impacts where possible, however, a project of this scale and significance comes with unavoidable impacts to some properties,” they said.
The spokesperson confirmed this would include private properties, but did not provide further details on the scale.
“Transport acknowledges the very real impacts of property acquisition on families and a dedicated personal manager continues to support affected property owners through this process,” the spokesperson said.
An environmental impact statement will be released later this year.
Original Article published by Claire Sams on Region Canberra.
