The $2.5m Hunters Hill boat shed that might be worth a lot less

How much is open public bushland worth? It’s a question Hunters Hill Council may well ask after it recently floated a proposal to sell a waterfront parcel of natural bushland with a beach and a boat shed that it had bought more than 20 years ago for $2.515 million.

Muddying the waters is not only fierce opposition from locals objecting to the sale of public land, but fears it would sell for potentially a lot less.

Hunters Hill is proposing to sell waterfront bushland and a boat shed to the home owners next door, who sold it to council 22 years ago.Credit:

The 527-square-metre block on the north-facing foreshore of the Lane Cove River is described in council’s proposal as “remnant land” and surplus to the current or future needs of the community.

This is despite being valued as one of the suburb’s most expensive vacant blocks 22 years ago when council bought it from the owners of the historic Mornington mansion next door.

At the time there was a legal stoush that preceded its price determination. Evidence to the Supreme Court in 2002 revealed the Porters estimated they were owed $900,000 to $1.8 million, and council argued it was worth $300,000, with a “worst-case scenario” of $1.2 million.

Ultimately, the Valuer-General made the call, putting it at $2.515 million for the bushland known as 16c Vernon Street, Hunters Hill.

“This plainly came as a shock to the council and perhaps a pleasant surprise to the Porters,” said Justice Roger Giles in his NSW Court of Appeal judgment in which he found in favour of the Porters.

Council not only paid, but had to cover the Porters’ legal costs as well.

At the time the median house price in Hunters Hill was $1.2 million, according to Domain data. It has since risen to $4.1 million.

The block was originally part of the landmark Mornington estate that was built in 1906 to a design by architect Henry E. Budden, and from 1918 until 1999 owned by generations of the Meggitt family, of the pioneer linseed oil industry. It is a landmark residence at 16 Vernon Street that was long known locally as the “eyes of the river” given its distinctive windows.

The lot known as 16c Vernon Street in Hunters Hill has a beach and natural rocky outcrops over the Lane Cove River.Credit:

It was a decision in the 1980s to rezone the waterfront portion of the estate as open space that has made valuing the land a matter of conjecture because it meant that part of the estate could not be developed, and the owners could force council to acquire it.

And that’s what happened in 2000 after the Meggitt family sold Mornington for $3.2 million to Meredith and Graham Porter, founders and owners of the Four Seasons Condom company.

Council officially acquired the land in 2002 by subdividing the foreshore into two lots, of which the smaller part was left to the Porters and the larger 527-square-metre block became public land.

The heritage-listed Mornington residence was known as the “eyes of the river” given its unique windows.Credit: Hunters Hill Trust

A recent proposal by Hunters Hill Council to sell the block back to the Porters would effectively reverse the compulsory acquisition with little likelihood of raising the equivalent of $2,515,000 in 2024 dollars, said the submission of Jim Sanderson, who was until recently an Independent councillor.

The Porters did not respond to requests for comment.

The waterfront bushland is one of four blocks proposed for sale as part of council’s Long Term Financial Plan to fund operations or asset maintenance costs. A spokesperson said no valuation was required at this stage because no formal sale process had started.

The plan has received more than 60 submissions, of which more than a handful of locals, former councillors and the Hunters Hill Trust have lodged objections that are fiercely critical of the proposal.

“Selling council land to fund continuing operations is not sustainable nor does it respect intergenerational equity,” Sanderson stated.

The “remnant land” at 16c Vernon Street is accessed via heritage steps in the Serpentine Road Reserve.Credit:

“This is the wrong thing to do,” said councillor and former mayor Ross Williams.

“It’s public land, the public have access to it, it has beautiful beaches on it, it has a boat shed that should be public, and it’s full of trees and beautiful rocky outcrops. These are all the reasons why you wouldn’t sell it.”

The neighbour David Griffith said the best outcome for the community would be to redirect the Great North Walk down the unmade part of Serpentine Road Reserve so people can access the beach, bushland and the boat shed.

The submission of Hunters Hill Trust president Karyn Raisin disputes council’s claim the block is only accessible from Mornington.

“An on-site visit clearly demonstrates this tract of land is accessible via Serpentine Rd Road Reserve. Unfortunately, the access has never been improved by council even though nearby signs point to the Great North Walk and Mornington Reserve further along the shoreline.”

A council spokesperson said the accessibility issue will be reviewed in the upcoming council report given recent feedback, and a report is due to be handed to council by the end of the year.