Dozens of compulsory acquisitions occurring across Geelong, from Corio to Drysdale

More brutal compulsory acquisition orders loom for landowners as Geelong grows rapidly. Here’s where the next one could be issued.

Compulsory acquisitions have been used by different levels of government to snatch up dozens of land packages across Geelong in recent years, with the one body not ruling out its potential next land grab target.

More than 30 property owners across Geelong have received their own compulsory acquisition notices in recent years, with the most recent victims Horst, 87, and Rena Pfeiffer, 84, facing three simultaneous acquisitions on the 15-acre Charlemont property they moved onto about 60 years ago.

The City of Greater Geelong has issued the majority of compulsory acquisition notices in recent years, with its plans to build major new growth zones in the city’s north and west sparking concerns.

The extensive Northern and Western Geelong Growth Areas Framework Plan outlines the opening of 20.9 square kilometres of land in Lovely Banks and 32.41sq km in Batesford, to allow for an estimated 112,078 new residents by 2050.

And while the plan does not currently identify land for compulsory acquisition, it has not been ruled out.

“Compulsory acquisition of land is only applied in rare cases when absolutely necessary for vital community infrastructure, such as drainage, roads and schools,” the city’s website notes.

“Acquisition of land for a public purpose can be a necessary part of the planning and development process and is used in growth area development across Victoria.

“If required in Geelong’s growth areas, the process would be undertaken as part of future planning processes in the coming decades and would include extensive consultation with affected parties.”

Planning Victoria outlines a range of ministers, government departments, public authorities, utility service providers and municipal councils which may compulsorily acquire land under the Planning and Environment Act 1987.

Those using the powers to compulsorily acquire land must follow strict rules set out in the Land Acquisition and Compensation Act 1986 (the LAC Act), including the timing of the service of notices, when and how offers must be made and when and how possession may be taken.

Future road projects may also attract the need for acquisition, including the mooted Bellarine Link that would connect Geelong Ring Rd to the Bellarine Highway.

The much-loathed compulsory acquisition land grab process has been launched or completed numerous times across the city in recent years, including in:

Charlemont

Horst, 87, and Rena Pfeifer, 84, moved into their 15-acre Reserve Rd property about 60 years ago, living in an army tent with their two children and cattle as they slowly built their home.

acquisitions

About 60 years later – last year – the couple received a letter from the City of Greater Geelong informing them their land was a “high priority” for compulsory acquisition to make way for roads and drainage works to cater for the new residential developments swallowing up surrounding land.

The city letter also informed the pensioners “the future Bellarine Link and a secondary school are other public uses which have been identified for part of your land”, paving the way for two more compulsory acquisitions in the future.

A map sent with the letters neatly sliced up the Pfeifer’s property into the future drainage, roads and school.

“To be quite honest, the first day I heard about it I thought I was going to pass out, because I was just so upset. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep,” Mr Pfeifer told the Addy in February.

“I laid every single brick in this place, and they just walk in and say ‘see you later’.

“If anybody thinks that the act of Parliament that allows them to do that is fair, well it’s not. It’s not fair at all, it doesn’t give me a fair go, because it just says ‘if you don’t like it, lump it’.”

Waurn Ponds

A fifth-generation farming family lost its battle to stop the state government’s compulsory acquisition of their land in 2020, despite warning it would leave the 164-year-old Waurn Ponds farm unviable.

Stan Larcombe was furious at the compulsory acquisition of his historic Waurn Ponds farm. Picture: Glenn Ferguson

Victorian Planning Minister Richard Wynne has slapped a public acquisition overlay on about 61ha of the Larcombe family’s 455ha Reservoir Rd merino sheep farm in mid-2020, to make way for the $115m Waurn Ponds train maintenance and stabling facility project.

Stan Larcombe, an 82-year-old farmer who owns the land with his brother Gordon, slammed the five-year process that led to the decision, accusing Mr Wynne of ignoring the recommendations of the independent panel that he appointed to consider the project.

“It’s a bloody farce really, the whole thing,” Mr Larcombe said. “He didn’t take any notice of what they recommended. That’s what we expected in a way, because what the government wants, the government gets.”

The Larcombes had argued the “ruthless” acquisition would slice their farm in two, separating infrastructure from livestock.

Armstrong Creek

The City of Greater Geelong was last year successful in placing Public Acquisition Overlays (PAO) over 18 properties in Armstrong Creek, Mount Duneed and Charlemont, paving the way for a series of land grabs.

Aerial photo Armstrong Creek. Picture: Nearmap

The proposed compulsory acquisitions would be used for “critical projects” the city said, including sporting reserves, drainage infrastructure and road upgrades.

“Three retarding basins/wetlands, five road and intersection upgrades and three sporting reserve projects are necessary for the continued development of the area. This infrastructure has been identified in the strategic plans for the area,” a city report noted.

Drysdale

A Drysdale couple last year lost their fight to save their house from being bulldozed to make way for a lucrative residential development, after the state government approved the rezoning of 28 Drysdale properties to make way for a 550-house estate.

De facto couple Glenda MacNaughton and Patrick Hughes at their Wyndham St home of 11 years, which will be demolished to make way for drainage and some open space. Picture: Peter Ristevski

The approval sealed the fate of Glenda MacNaughton and Patrick Hughes’ Wyndham St home of 11 years, which had been earmarked for acquisition to be demolished and replaced with a drainage reserve and public open space.

Mr Hughes and Ms MacNaughton had unsuccessfully argued their land wasn’t needed for the drainage reserve, citing a May 2019 Stormwater Management Plan report that found “careful design of the retarding basin upstream of Jetty Rd should permit for the existing dwelling to be maintained”.

Corio

An April 2021 Victorian Government Gazette listed 12 compulsory acquisition notices from the City of Greater Geelong, all in the former New Station Estate in Corio, north of the Geelong Ring Road, as the city worked to transform an “old and inappropriate” residential subdivision into an expanded industrial estate.

Council’s customer and corporate services director Michael Dugina said the city was aiming to resolve a planning issue stemming from the almost century-old subdivision of the site.

“As stated in an independent Panel report on Amendment C187 regarding the New Station Estate ‘This Estate is the remaining portion of an old and inappropriate subdivision dating from 1930,” Mr Dugina said.

“The estate is part of the Geelong Ring Road Employment Precinct (GREP), the region’s largest growth area for industrial development.

“The lots within the estate are too small to develop individually for industrial purposes so there needs to be acquisition and consolidation to maximise potential economic benefits for the region. Land has also been acquired for roads and drainage reserves.”

The city also confirmed it planned to acquire or purchase the nine remaining privately-owned lots in the estate, and would redevelop the land for industrial purposes once it had all been acquired.

Originally published as Dozens of compulsory acquisitions occurring across Geelong, from Corio to Drysdale