Residents fume over lack on information from Department of Transport and Main Roads about Toowoomba North-South corridor

It has been more than a fortnight since dozens of Toowoomba residents were told they would lose part of their property to a new road corridor, but they still waiting on more details from the state government about why.

There have been furious calls from hundreds of Toowoomba residents demanding that Transport Minister Mark Bailey hold a public forum and put forward the case for the controversial North South Transport Corridor.

The demand came after an estimated 400 residents asked for more information about how the proposed corridor would impact their homes and businesses.

The residents met at the Highfields Cultural Centre on Friday to discuss the plan with Queensland opposition MP Trevor Watts.

Highfields resident Amy Clark was at the meeting and said the overwhelming mood was one of frustration.

“There are about 150 properties that will be directly affected, but nearly everyone has not been consulted with,” she said.

“I received my letter from the Department of Main Roads and Transport about a week after the consultation period had opened.

“The whole process has been so poor, and it feels like another Inland Rail disaster in the making.”

Ms Clark said residents also wanted to know what evidence the government had that the corridor would be needed and the reasoning behind placing the road along the proposed route.

The initial consultation period was set to close on August 11, but Mr Bailey has extended it to September 8.

Toowoomba North MP Trevor Watts addressed a community forum held at the highfield Cultural Centre on July 21 after the Department of Transport and Main Roads announced was exploring a new road corridor along Toowoomba western flank.

While the project is only in the earliest stage with no funding behind it, there are concerns it will cast a shadow over future land sales, decreasing the value for anyone who wants to move before the axe falls.

The proposed route will cut through Alex Hindle’s business Hindle Horsemanship at Eureka, and she feared the state government had done little more than spread anxiety.

“The road takes up about 30 per cent of our property, and I don’t know what it means for our future,” she said.

“We have invested quite a bit into this property, all new fencing with cattle rail, we have built a $500,000 indoor training area, and I don’t know if any of that was worth it as the price of the property will have dropped.”

Toowoomba North MP Mr Watts said he was writing to Mr Bailey, asking for more information

“There is a Transport and Resources Committee Estimates Hearing on August 8 where I will put as many unanswered questions as the time allocated to me by the Labor government allows,” he said.

“The community feels there are substantial gaps in the consultation process, which is why I convened a community forum.

“I wanted to ensure that the community’s voices were truly heard and heard at the beginning of a consultation process.”

A map of the proposed Toowoomba North South Transport Corridor from the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads.

A TMR spokeswoman said the consultation process was genuine and urged landholders to visit the TMR website and have their say. She added the corridor was needed to cater for the additional 60,350 people who are forecast to move to the Toowoomba area over the next 25 years, and for the Wellcamp and Charlton industrial estates.

“Planning for future infrastructure investment needs to occur now to address the expected growth and development patterns that we know are emerging,” she said.

“If we don’t plan for future infrastructure now, the opportunity will be lost to other development and Toowoomba’s transport network will not meet future needs.

“TMR is planning for a multimodal corridor which means that future funded projects will cater to all modes of transport including commuters, public transport, active transport and freight.”

The spokeswoman added that TMR will have one-on-one meetings with the affected landholders.

“Corridor protection is not property resumption,” she said.

“If projects are funded to proceed in the future, TMR will contact landowners at that time to discuss impacts to their property.”

TMR had an extensive policy framework to support the property rights of land holders and many landowners were meeting with its project team to understand the process should corridor protection proceed, the spokeswoman said.

Condamine MP Pat Weir will host a second meeting at Aberfeldy Farm & Barn in Westbrook at 6pm on July 31.

It will hear from the Opposition’s Transport and Main Roads spokesman Steve Minnikin.