Taxpayers could be forced to buy back land for Beaches Link Tunnel at higher cost after sold by Labor

TAXPAYERS could be forced to buy back land once earmarked for the northern beaches tunnel just six years after the previous Labor government sold it to a developer.

Andrew and Karen Plunkett and baby Charlotte on their street where houses could be acquired.

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LAND earmarked for the northern beaches tunnel was sold to developers by the Labor State Government in 2011 and could cost taxpayers millions and disrupt families.

And we may have to stump up more than $11 million — six times the original price — to get the land, which now has family homes on it.

Pittwater MP Rob Stokes slammed it as a “final act of bastardry” in the dying days of the Labor government.

Street where houses will be acquired for new harbour tunnel. talk to residents display pictures

The land, in Serpentine Crescent, North Balgowlah, was bought for $1.92 million on March 20, 2011 by Crows Nest-based developer Vatera.

Now filled with six stand-alone properties, the State Government would probably have to spend more than $11 million — using the median house price for the suburb which is $1.85 million.

These same six properties are among the 30-odd that have been doorknocked by the Roads and Maritime Service in recent days to warn residents their property may be impacted.

Pictured is NSW Education Minister Rob Stokes at Mona Vale Public School today. Picture: Tim Hunter.

“It was a parting blow that Labor has made it as hard as possible to deliver a transformative transport plan that had been previously locked in for decades,” Mr Stokes said.

“The Warringah expressway corridor had been clearly earmarked since the Cumberland plan in the 1940s. It was intact as late as 1996 when Bob Carr came into office and was progressively sold off when Labor was in government.”

The Manly Daily made repeated attempts to contact Labor’s planning spokesman Michael Daley.

A Planning Department spokeswoman said the land sale “predated the election and was a routine part of our work, not a major new decision”.

The land was originally acquired for the construction of the Warringah Transport Corridor in the 1960s. The Freeway proposal — which would have seen a bridge built across Sugarloaf Bay to Seaforth and Wakehurst Parkway was abandoned in 1977.

The Northern Beaches road runnel plan.

In the early 1990s, the Liberal Nick Greiner government explored a tunnel crossing Middle Harbour, with a similar route.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Thursday that 71 homes, possibly more, would be notified “that they are likely to be impacted”.

And former Premier Mike Baird indicated that houses would be acquired.

The Manly Daily spoke to a number of residents. One of them, who did not want to be named — but who lives in one of the six subdivided houses — said during their discussions with the RMS it was revealed those properties were among the ones “at risk”.

Andrew and Karen Plunkett also live in the six-house stretch with their two children, James, 2, and five-month-old Charlotte.

The Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation as viewed from the street where houses could be acquired for new harbour tunnel. Picture: Martin Lange.

The couple said they were supportive of the tunnel, but would be devastated if they had to move out of the area.

Mrs Plunkett, 38, criticised the consultation process so far. “Two young ladies knocked on our door with a brochure,” she said.

She said the door knockers had no information for them, but just took down email addresses and handed them a brochure.

“It felt like it was a tick of the box, because they were saying ‘oh yeah we have door knocked’ — well yeah you physically have, but there is no more information given to us than what you can find on the internet.”

Mr Plunkett, 40, said he understood the tunnel needed to happen, but wanted to know more. “The biggest concern we have is about property prices, we were thinking a tunnel that is great, property prices in the area are going up,” he said.

“Now we are no longer in that market if they are just going to take our place.”

He said a sticking point was the certainty of the numbers given by the State Government.

“The one thing that stuck out for my wife, Karen was the fact they said 71 houses, if they said around 70 it would have been different,” he said. “But someone has done the calculation.”