Gympie council has been taken to the Planning Court over Traveston subdivision rejection

A private Traveston property owner and Gympie Regional Council are headed to court over a rejected plan to realign a rural property and move access away from a major railway line.

The owners of a Traveston property have taken Gympie Regional Council to court after it refuesd their application to realign the boundaries on a property split by Traveston Rd and the North Coast railway line.

A private developer has taken Gympie Regional Council to court after being told it could not change the location of two Traveston lots where the only access was by crossing the main railway line.

APT AT CLS had asked the council for permission to reshuffle the boundaries on land it owned at Traveston.

The land is divided into three lots: one 99.3ha in size along Noakes Rd, and two 7.37ha at the northern end of that block.

These two blocks are divided from the main property by Traveston Rd and the North Coast railway line.

They are squeezed on the northern side by Six Mile Creek.

The land in question consists of a larger block south of Traveston Rd, and two lots north of the road which can only be accessed by way of an unformed crossing of the train tracks.

The two blocks can only be accessed by an unformed level crossing and a subway under the rail line.

In August 2020 APT AT CLS asked for permission to subdivide the land and shift the boundaries of the two blocks from Traveston Rd down next to Noakes Rd.

The council refused the application saying it was inconsistent with the planning scheme, contrary to community expectations and would compromise good quality agricultural land as the new lot boundaries were too small to be viable.

The owners wanted to have the boundaries of the two smaller lots changed to adjoin Noakes Rd, and make the split section part of the large main block.

APT AL CLS is now disputing this in the state’s planning court.

Its lodged appeal documents says the subdivision should be allowed as it does comply with the scheme and would improve safe access to already existing lots.

“Currently Lots 39 and 40 achieve access via an unformed level crossing over the North Coast railway line, which presents considerable safety implications,” the appeal says.

They also dispute the council’s agricultural land concerns, saying the small lots are already too small and constrained to support agricultural use as they exist now.