Tasmania Golf Club demands fair compensation for losing fairway in Tasman Highway project
One of the state’s most prestigious golf courses wants fair compensation for land lost in a key highway-widening project.
Tasmania
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One of Tasmania’s top golf clubs has demanded the state government provide adequate compensation to fund a course redesign, following the compulsory acquisition of part of its land to facilitate the Tasman Highway redevelopment.
Tasmania Golf Club president John Milbourne said his organisation had been in talks with the government over the impact of the Midway Point causeway expansion since 2019, when it was feared the project may force the club to close.
In 2020, the state government promised to build two extra lanes on a 2.6km stretch of the existing road between Hobart Airport and the Midway Point causeway, as part of a $350m regional roads plan.
Mr Milbourne said talks were ongoing with Department of State Growth to achieve what the club deemed to be a “fair and reasonable” financial outcome for its loss of land, and the forced redesign of at least four holes.
“Our position is that while we will be disrupted by the project, the outcomes need to be at least as good as what we currently have with the playability of the course and safety issues dealt with,” Mr Milbourne said.
“We have met with senior management of the department and have developed a shared understanding of what will happen, including the redevelopment of affected areas of the course, the compulsory acquisition of land by the government and a model to provide appropriate compensation to the business of the club.”
In Tasmania’s parliament last week, Infrastructure Minister Michael Ferguson laid the blame for delays to the road-widening project on federal environmental laws, with land opposite the golf course at Milford Forest being home to two species of critically endangered orchids.
Mr Milbourne said that the delay was having an impact on the club’s increasingly frustrated membership base, which was anxious that any new layout be at least as good as the original design.
“The club has developed a comprehensive model to manage our compensation claim and it has been provided to the department,” he said.
“Any financial assistance is purely compensation for loss and restoration – it’s not in any way a handout.”
Mr Ferguson told the Mercury that the government shared the frustrations of the members of the Tasmania Golf Club and the daily users of the Tasman Highway between Sorell and Hobart.
“The department has been working with the club and golf course design specialists to ensure that amendments are made to the course to enable it to continue to operate at the same standard as it does now,” Mr Ferguson said.
“The compensation package which includes golf course redesign is being finalised, and I am advised that the road works are expected to commence in 2025.”
Originally published as Tasmania Golf Club demands fair compensation for losing fairway in Tasman Highway project
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