The City of Greater Bendigo is facing legal action from an Eaglehawk pensioner who claims it has wrongly occupied her land for over five decades.
After recent works out the front of her home, the woman – who asked not to be named – said she had discovered that the perimeter of her block overlapped with the road.
According to a council statement, the section of McCormacks Road has crossed the property boundary for over 70 years, dating back to before the house’s construction.
Her lawyer, Senior Associate at Slater and Gordon Lawyers, Adrian McMillian, said that the council had unlawfully possessed the land at the front of his client’s house for decades.
“My client owns three quarters of the land that the road is located on, and the council have been using all of it for the past 54 years.”
The road comes close to the woman’s home, and several cars have ended up in the living room after their drivers lost control.
“Three cars have already crashed into her house,” Mr McMillian said.
“She lives in fear because of the unsafe nature of the road.
“(My client) is scared that her home isn’t safe for her grandchildren to visit.”
The woman, who is aged in her 80’s, says she sits in her home at night listening to trucks rumble by, while hoon drivers perform burnouts on the roadway.
“It’s so loud, you can’t hear yourself think,” she said.
“I wrote a letter in March [to the council], saying if this deal goes ahead, I’ll end up dead. I’ll be in my bed or in the lounge room and a car will come through the wall like it already has, and it may hit me.”
The City said it is aware of the resident’s concerns and continues to work with the owner and her lawyers to resolve her concerns, in the interests of both the occupant and the community.
Mr McMillian said his client wants to resolve the matter quickly and be fairly compensated for the occupation of her land over all these years.
“Our client needs to be covered for the years which the Council occupied her land without consent, consideration or authority which has cost her a considerable sum and has left her in an impossible financial situation, making it difficult to vacate,” McMillian says.
The City said it was not seeking to acquire the land compulsorily, but denied it is wrongfully occupying the property.
“Historically, the existing frontage incorporates what could best be described as part of the road and a road reserve (nature strip), which also contains essential services,” the city said in a prepared statement.
“This means the parts of the road which “encroach” on the land became a public highway, which the City is legally required to maintain and could be transferred to the City through established procedures.
“The City understands the owner may take a different view about this.”
