Deputy mayor Chris Holstein says council won’t be bullied on land sale
The heads of Central Coast Council have welcomed plans for a roundtable discussion about the future of Davistown wetlands, but say council will not be pressured into buying it.
Central Coast
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Central Coast Council mayor, Jane Smith and deputy mayor Chris Holstein are on the same page when it comes to the future of Davistown’s environmentally sensitive wetlands.
The pair say a “roundtable” discussion about the future of Davistown wetlands had merit but should not be used as an opportunity to hold the council to ransom or bully it into buying the land.
The roundtable idea was put forward last week by Robertson Federal Liberal MP Lucy Wicks who raised the issue in federal Parliament.
She told Parliament she had written to the Minister for Environment and Energy to see if the wetlands were protected under Commonwealth legislation and planned to meet with local stakeholders — including Central Coast Council — to discuss protecting the land.
“If Lucy wants to have a round table discussion I’m sure that the council would be keen to take part- but it’s not about saying you are going to pay whatever for the land — it’s about discussing how the land is protected and how to get it into public ownership without having to pay through the nose for it,” Cr Holstein said.
“I believe the land is significant and should be protected — but its been bought under speculation by a developer a long time ago and he’s now decided he can’t do anything with it and he’s trying to sell it off,” he said.
“I don’t believe council should be bullied into paying an unrealistic price.”
Cr Holstein compared the community campaign to save the wetlands to a similar campaign between 2013 and 1015 to save environmentally sensitive Bambara and at Kariong
“Bambara was land that was environmentally sensitive — it became the focus of a community campaign to reclaim it and all that did was encourage the owner of that land to think it was worth more than it actually was,” he said.
“Council held strong on Bambara and ultimately came to an outcome that was in the interest of the environment and the community — and it was added to the national park,” he said.
“I’m not an expert in real estate but I find the $7 million offered [for Davistown wetlands] would be a very unrealistic price for the land — it might be realistic if it had development potential but it has no development potential because of the of its conservation zoning.”
LOOK AT THE OPTIONS
Mayor Jane Smith agreed and said any meeting should canvas the options rather than seek a set outcome.
She said the owner of the land was quite entitled to sell it for the best price he could get — but council had to use public funds in an efficient and responsible way.
“We really cannot be held to ransom for an unrealistic sum of money,” she said.
“Ultimately it would be preferable to have this land in public hands, but it is protected by environmental constraints because it contains protected species and protected vegetation.”
OWNER SAYS IT’S ‘A BIT RICH’
The controversial Tidal Shoals site in Davistown is owned by Ettalong Beach businessman Tony Altavilla.
It failed to attract a single serious bid at auction last week when it went under the hammer in front of a small crowd in Sydney.
One bid of $7 million politely declined by auctioneer David Scholes, as it was under the reserve.
The 200,000 sqm parcel was passed in shortly after, with agent Larry Altavilla of One Agency Platinum in Ettalong Beach saying it was just the beginning of the process.
Speaking this week, Larry Altavilla said he thought the it was “a bit rich” to be using the word bullied.
“We have not bullied — all we are trying to do is sell what is rightfully ours to sell by the normal means,” Mr Altavilla said.
“In the end this has caused nothing but utter grief not only for my uncle but also for myself and my business and now he wants to make scaremongering comments like that,” he said.
“In the end we will continue to do what we are doing and whoever comes to the party first we’ll do a deal with.
“We are not trying to bully anyone — we are prepared to negotiate with all the stakeholders.”
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