By Ben Cubby
It sounds like a Sydney real estate investor’s dream come true: a sprawling waterfront property next to a World Heritage area on the market for just $50,000 – a fraction of the price it fetched five years ago.
Of course, there was a catch.
An aerial view of the Wheeny Creek site in northern Sydney, now partially grassed over.Credit: Nick Moir
The property in question contains a massive and allegedly illegal contaminated waste dump that includes asbestos and other pollutants which have been leaking into a nearby wetland.
The NSW Environment Protection Agency says around 100,000 tonnes of waste was buried on the 26-hectare block at Wheeny Creek in the Hawkesbury region between 2020 and 2023 without a permit, making it the largest illegal dumping case in the state’s history.
Financial records show a $2 company was formed by Samuel Mitchell of Oberon and Scott Davis of Schofields in late October to purchase the property.
The site changed hands on November 5 for just $50,000, less than a tenth of the $510,000 it was last sold for in 2020, property records indicate.
The agency is pursuing one of the site’s former owners, a construction waste transport operator and alleged associate of the Rebels motorcycle gang named Andrew Hughes, in court on pollution-related charges. Hughes is contesting the charges in the Land and Environment Court.
The fate of the property, which is subject to multiple government-issued clean-up notices, is unclear.
Andrew Hughes is contesting pollution charges in the NSW Land and Environment Court.
Mitchell, a demolition contractor, didn’t discuss his hopes for the site when contacted by the Herald last week beyond confirming the sale, and the EPA remains in the dark about the new owners’ plans.
“We have reached out to the new landowners and will meet with them in the coming weeks,” an EPA spokesperson said.
Vehicles have been working on the site and some landscaping done over the Christmas period, according to locals.
“Our primary concern at this stage is to prevent any pollutants from entering the surrounding environment, and we are continuing to monitor the property to confirm appropriate controls remain in place,” the EPA spokesperson said.
“We plan to work with the new landowners on these matters and to ensure they are aware of the sensitivities regarding the property and surrounding environment.”
The Wheeny Creek property was allegedly one of a series of sites used by large-scale illegal dumping operators who were paid to collect contaminated construction waste but instead disposed of it unlawfully and pocketed the fee.
Dr Ian Wright, a professor of environmental science at University of Western Sydney, tests for pollution at Wheeny Creek.Credit: Wolter Peeters
Secret cameras, drones and covert surveillance by EPA officers monitored dozens of truck movements in and out of the property as huge amounts of material were deposited there.
When officers visited the site, an excavator dug to a depth of seven metres without breaking through the compacted waste to the ground beneath.
Toxic sludge has also been seen leaking out of the site.
The EPA installed a barrier to prevent run-off from the property last year after the Herald reported on independent water testing which showed the wetland was “highly contaminated by a cocktail of metals at concentrations known to be hazardous to aquatic life.”
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