Couple’s retirement ‘ruined’ after $5 million investment fail
A Brisbane couple’s million dollar retirement plans have been ‘ruined’ after their land they bought in 1988 was swallowed up by a highway upgrade.
Companies
Don't miss out on the headlines from Companies. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A pair of would-be developers have lost their fight for $5.5 compensation after their land was swallowed up by a highway upgrade.
Raymond and Wendy Dibb, who both have links to an international gold mining company, had been land-banking 2.7 hectares of rural acreage near Coffs Harbour, New South Wales.
The couple bought the land in Korora for $118,000 back in 1988 and sat on it for decades, waiting for the day they could make their retirement fortune by subdividing and selling it off.
But the couple never got the chance.
The acreage was compulsorily acquired by Transport for NSW back in 2021 in order to make way for the Pacific Highway bypass.
The Brisbane couple believed the land was worth an enticing $5.5 million — enough to set them up for a very comfortable retirement.
However, their dreams were quashed after Transport NSW valued it at just $1.062 million back in 2021.
A gruelling three-year legal battle finally ended in the NSW Court of Appeal on June 28, with the Dibbs being awarded $1.359 million in compensation.
The couple argued they deserved much more.
“This was a pretty significant financial transaction that’s really gone bad for us,” Raymond Dibb told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“And it’s got nothing to do with our investment choices
“We’re talking about landowners just minding their own business, and someone comes knocking on your door, saying, ‘We’re going to take your land’”.
Mr Dibb stated that most landowners settled “with a gun to their head” for a lower valuation instead of trying to fight for a better deal in court.
He added that he believed an independent body should conduct compulsory acquisitions rather than the government.
The pair first visited Coffs Harbour from Queensland back in 1976. By the 1980s, they could see the city had a bright future ahead and was set for major expansion.
This prompted them to buy land on the outskirts, with a plan to subdivide the block into 26 lots once the land was rezoned as residential.
They planned to live on one block and drip-feed two of three others onto the market annually in order to fund their retirement.
The couple were going to finance the development using a line of credit from their eldest son, who founded a gold mining company with operations in Africa, Mr Dibb told the Land and Environment Court during a 10-day hearing last year, according to the outlet.
It looked like their investment was going to pay off back in 1996 when the Coffs Harbour City Council considered the area for possible residential development.
They stated that the land, which used to be covered in banana plantations, was ideal for “rural living” and everything was set to rezone the area in 2001.
But their dream was quickly quashed after the government unveiled plans for the highway bypass and urged the council to refrain from rezoning until the route was confirmed.
Mr Dibb told the Sydney Morning Herald that this curtained the couple’s ability to do anything with the land for the next 20 years and depleted all the value of land in the area, to the benefit of Transport for NSW.
The $2.2 billion highway is now currently bing built over the top of the block, which will be the site of a major intersection when the project opens to traffic in late 2026.
Justice Nicola Pain found in the Land and Environment Court that the council would have rezoned the land as low-density residential if not for the highway project.
However, she stated that the Dibbs had not accounted for the cost of developing the land or the risk of such a project arising from a watercourse that ran over the block.
Justice Pain ended up increasing the couple’s compensation to $1.42 million after it was determined the land could have produced seven residential lots with less risk and cost. She found they were also entitled to money to cover fees and stamp duty on a replacement block for their land bank, which the couple argued they would need to buy to delay paying capital gains tax.
Mr and Mrs Dibb appealed the decision to the NSW Court of Appeal to seek greater compensation. They appeared without legal representation.
Transport for NSW argued that they should not have been granted any money for stamp duty, with Justices Kristina Stern, Anthony Payne and Jeremy Kirk agreeing.
This was stripped from the award and they refused to revalue the block of land. The couple were also ordered to pay the government’s costs of the two-day appeal.
Mr Dibb is considering seeking leave to appeal against the High Court’s decision. He added that the couple’s retirement plans had been ruined by Transport for NSW, which originally offered just $470,000 for the land back in 2019.
A spokesperson for Transport for NSW said the government body “empathises with residents and landowners affected by property acquisitions” and said they always “try to minimise the need for property acquisition”.
“Transport for NSW is committed to working collaboratively with property owners to enable the majority of land acquisition requirements to be completed by agreement, rather than a compulsory process,” the spokesperson said.
“Wherever possible, Transport for NSW seeks to complete property acquisition by a negotiated agreement. All Transport for NSW offers to landholders are based on an independent valuation.”
“Where a negotiated agreement cannot be reached, the property is compulsorily acquired in accordance with the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991,” they added.
“When this happens, the Valuer-General, who is independent of Transport for NSW, is engaged.”
More Coverage
Originally published as Couple’s retirement ‘ruined’ after $5 million investment fail
Company with just $3 in the bank collapses
One company had just $3 left in its bank account when it went under, while a business providing services was forced to sack staff after its bill went unpaid.
Shock in $561 million ‘Ponzi scheme’ collapse
A real estate agent has to personally pay back $7.4 million after encouraging a Sydney family’s involvement in a dodgy property investment opportunity.