Suburban Rail Loop park takeover sparks $7m compo fight

The Suburban Rail Loop project is locked in a $6.9 million dispute with an eastern suburbs council over the value of a Burwood park it seized control of to build a station for the underground train line.

The $34.5 billion mega-project compulsorily acquired Sinnott Street Reserve and other council-owned land between Sinnott Street, McComas Grove and the Burwood Highway in March 2023.

Whitehorse Council is seeking $6.9 million more for the loss of Sinnott Street Reserve for a Suburban Rail Loop station in Burwood. Credit: Justin McManus

Construction crews are working around the clock to build a 19-metre deep hole on the site, from which to launch two massive tunnel boring machines next year.

The Burwood SRL station will provide a train link to Deakin University and trigger significant high-density housing development in the surrounding area, which currently consists mostly of single-storey detached houses.

Whitehorse City Council has taken the Suburban Rail Loop Authority to the Supreme Court of Victoria, claiming it has refused to pay the council fair compensation for the loss of its park, which backs onto Gardiners Creek and included undercover picnic and barbecue facilities and the old Burwood Skyline Drive-in playground.

Court documents show Whitehorse claims it is owed $16.4 million, comprising $15.98 million for the value of the land, $72,412 in legal fees and other professional expenses, and $400,000 in solatium, which compensates for “intangible” and non-monetary damage from losing the park.

The Department of Transport and Planning’s director of land acquisitions, Bryan Yeow, rejected this claim in April 2024, documents show. He made a counteroffer of $9.5 million for the land, based on an assessment by the Valuer-General Victoria, plus $45,566 in professional expenses.

The $6.9 million difference in valuations comes down partly to a disagreement about the potential “highest and best use” of the land.

Whitehorse’s valuer Urbis considered the land’s value based on it being rezoned for residential housing, while the SRL Authority’s offer valued it as a public park.

An SRL Authority spokesperson said the dispute would not impact the overall cost or timeline of the $34.5 billion project.

“We will continue to work with Whitehorse City Council to finalise compensation,” they said.

Whitehorse declined to comment.

The SRL Authority has opened a replacement park on Cumming Street and a new barbecue area at the Lundgren Chain Reserve.

The authority has taken over planning controls within 1.6 kilometres of the six new stations, and is developing new planning schemes to unlock 70,000 more homes and 230,000 extra jobs in those precincts.

A draft structure plan for Burwood forecasts the population of the station precinct will more than double – from 5300 to 11,100 people – by 2041. The number of dwellings is predicted to grow from 2100 to 4700 over the same period, with apartment blocks of up to 11 storeys planned near the station.

A Planning Panels Victoria advisory committee will hold public hearings from August 25 to examine the plans to reshape Burwood and the five other SRL precincts at Box Hill, Glen Waverley, Monash, Clayton and Cheltenham.

The committee will examine whether the draft precinct plans are likely to succeed in delivering a diversity of housing types – including social and affordable housing – and shifting travel from driving to public and active transport.

It will also scrutinise a proposed Voluntary Public Benefit Uplift scheme, which would allow developers to exceed building height limits if they include open space, affordable housing or street-level amenity improvements as part of their buildings.

Local councils have already raised concerns about the proposed uplift scheme, including that it would count office space as a supposed “public benefit” to unlock height limits and may disincentivise developers from including public housing.

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