New push from Central Coast Council to purchase Davistown Wetlands site
The ongoing saga of Davistown Wetlands took another turn when Central Coast Council voted to obtain a second valuation of the land. Meanwhile the owner says the land is already under offer.
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Central Coast Council will get a second valuation of Davistown Wetlands in its bid to buy and protect the land.
However, the move has “baffled” selling agent Larry Altivilla who says the 19.2ha of environmentally sensitive land is already under offer from a group of Sydney buyers.
At Monday’s meeting councillors voted to obtain a second valuation on the land with council staff indicating they had not received a response to the offer they made six months ago.
Mr Altivilla denied receiving any formal offer from the council.
“We have reached out to council a number of times in relation to working together to make a transaction happen,” he said.
“We have not received a formal offer.”
He said the group of buyers is investigating its options for the site before the sale is finalised.
Davistown Progress Association’s Jenny McCulla handed presented a petition to council with 1209 signatures urging council to buy the land for its future protection.
“A year ago I was here, you all voted unanimously on a motion to purchase Davistown Wetlands,” she said.
“I am here because it’s a year on and we really would like to see some action.”
Councillor Troy Marquart questioned delays on the purchase and pushed for council to continue in its bid to purchase the site.
Mayor Lisa Matthews said a good outcome to come out of the meeting was the second valuation.
“We want to get the deal done and protect the wetland,” she said.
“It’s frustrating that this message hasn’t got out to the community. The owner should get a fair price but council should not be held to ransom to pay a premium.”
The saga of Davistown Wetlands has been ongoing since October 2017 when the blocks were listed for sale under the name “Tidal Shoals” with a sales campaign and a price tag of more than $120 million.
The property went to auction but was passed in after a single “lowball” bid of $7m.
The site includes six parcels of land in Lillipilli St, Pine Ave, Kincumber Cres and Malinya Rd.
Mrs McCulla said the wetlands has been on the community radar since 1984 when the State Government pinpointed the wetlands for preservation.
She said the wetlands were integral to flood retention in Davistown, along with air quality and local flora and fauna.