By Jim Gainsford
St Peters residents say they have been ambushed by the WestConnex Delivery Authority's decision to send compulsory acquisition letters for 41 properties in the suburb before an environmental impact statement has been prepared on the project.
The letters were sent last Friday to residents in Brown Street, Campbell Street, Campbell Road, and Florence Street in St Peters confirming the WDA needs to acquire their properties and requires vacant possession by early 2016.
Ambushed: The Lockie-O'Brien family arrived home from overseas to a letter from the WestConnex Delivery Authority stating their Brown Street property is earmarked for acquisition.
Another four property owners have been told the status of their homes is still to be confirmed.
Warren O'Brien and Pauline Lockie arrived back from overseas on Friday to receive the news that their property in Brown Street was one of those earmarked for acquisition.
"People are still in shock," Ms Lockie said. "They are angry that this is going ahead when no environmental impact statement has been released."
The couple bought their property, which is their first home, last July and moved in early September.
They received the original notice on Melbourne Cup Day that their home could possibly be acquired and confirmation came on Friday.
"We moved here in good faith after being told there were no plans for the area but this has obviously been in the works for a while," Ms Lockie said.
"We changed schools for our five-year-old daughter, Adia, based on what they told us, which we would never have done if we knew the truth.
"We've been told the RMS valuations and acquisitions manager will write to us shortly to tell us the next step.
"The whole community knows there won't be any winners if this goes ahead. It will destroy parkland, homes and livelihoods and businesses.
"Even residents in those homes left behind will go from living in a peaceful suburb to existing beside a four- to six-lane highway."
The WestConnex Action Group has received legal advice that an environmental impact statement must be prepared before the project can proceed.
WestConnex Action Group spokeswoman Janet Dandy-Ward said that the WDA and RMS would claim the road improvement scheme for Campbell Street was completely separate to WestConnex.
"But we believe they will say this is to go ahead without an EIS," she said.
"We have heard that some of the properties are already owned by the RMS. We understand that people have been approached and some have said they are happy to go.
"It seems they are picking people off one by one. They informed people the day before a public holiday weekend. But it is interesting that the WestConnex Delivery Authority information office on the Princes Highway is not open this weekend.
"People are devastated and don't know what to do. They now have to wait until Tuesday to find out more information.
"The WDA should call a community meeting and communicate their intentions to the residents of St Peters."
The WestConnex Action group will hold a protest rally on Sunday, February 1, starting at Newtown at 12.45pm and marching along King Street to Sydney Park.
Roads Minister Duncan Gay said all the residential property acquisitions are in a longstanding existing road corridor.
"As soon as we can confirm a property is needed, we move quickly to notify owners so as to provide the earliest certainty," he said.
"These letters are not the first contact we've had with property owners, they follow advice provided last year in person, over the phone and via letters.
"We will advise all owners of any potential impacts as soon as we are in a position to do so."
WestConnex chief executive Dennis Cliche said the St Peters Interchange is a significant component of the WestConnex project and will play an important role in linking the M4 and M5 with Sydney Airport and Port Botany.
"At this stage of the project, we are in a position to advise property owners who will definitely be affected," he said.
"Consequently we have recently confirmed property acquisition with a number of owners, including 41 residential properties all of which are within the existing road reservation.
"We are very sensitive to the impacts such a large project will have on the community – both positive and negative and we are working to limit the negative impacts wherever possible."