Aussie farming family devastated by plans to build a road straight through their house, revealing the HEARTLESS way they were notified
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A hardworking farming family have been left feeling devastated after being informed that their land will be acquired in order for a road to be built, despite being surrounded by acres of vacant land.
A vital part of the Redbank North Richmond project, which is headed by developer Redbank Communities, is the construction of a bridge. To make that possible, a road is needed to connect to the new crossing.
Mariane and Peter Wilcox have been supplying Sydney with fresh produce by growing fruit and vegetables on their property for over 20 years.
Despite their years of hard work, the couple was notified that a road will be built straight through where their beloved home currently sits in the form of an application notice, meekly cable tied to a pole beside their driveway.
The Wilcox family's 15-acre property at Richmond (north-west Sydney) is set to be demolished in December.
The notice was cable tied to a pole. Image Credit: A Current Affair
The developer Redbank, Hawkesbury Council and the NSW Government told the Wilcox family that they would forcibly acquire the property for the road leading to the $23.8 million Grose Vale Bridge.
The family said that they were completely blindsided by the decision made by the NSW government, Hawkesbury Council, and the developer.
To add salt to the injury, Mrs Wilcox revealed that she first found out about the project while in a community meeting with other locals.
“I found out at a community meeting in front of a whole lot of other people,” she disclosed.
“They just put a picture of our property up on the screen and said this is where the road is going to run and that is how I found out. It was very heartless.”
The couple were planning to pass the farm down to their son Adam. Father of two Adam Wilcox was left heartbroken, saying that he ‘only knows [how] to farm’.
“Why would you take someone's house? It just doesn't make any sense,” he said tearfully. “I don’t know how much stress they have put on me and my parents. Just for what? Nothing.”
Adam Wilcox (pictured) was left devastated. Image Credit: A Current Affair
Even though Mrs Wilcox was grief-stricken, she pledged to 'fight to the end'.
She started a petition to change the route of the road, arguing that there is plenty of vacant land around their property that could be used instead.
“This project has been designed to go through our farming family's property and directed straight through our family home and farm sheds where we have resided and farmed for 22 years,” she wrote.
“We as the property owners have been treated extremely poorly. We have been discriminated against, treated disrespectfully and our emails and phone calls have not been acknowledged, replied to or actioned.”
Mrs Wilcox explained that their land had historical significance as it had been used to farm for five generations. Not only that but their land is one of the few fertile areas suitable for growing Sydney's food.
“Most of the land further west is unfarmable and the destruction of prime agricultural land with such close proximity to the Sydney population is a travesty,” she said.
“Once farmland is gone, it's gone. This can lead to issues with food security as farming is one of the most important uses of land and there is limited fertile farmland in Sydney.”
Her daughter, Kimberly Wilcox revealed that she was disgusted by how the Hawkesbury council and Redbank development handled the situation.
'This is so disheartening. My parents worked hard their entire life to retire at a property or area they love only for the council to just come in and destroy their whole land,” she said.
The hardworking family. Image Credit: A Current Affair
The $1.2billion Redbank North Richmond project is planned to house 3,900 new residents by 2028.
Hawkesbury City Council Director City Planning Linda Perrine spoke up about the issue detailing that the design of the Grose River Road bridge was part of a joint discussion between Hawkesbury City Council, Transport for NSW and Redbank Communities.
“Redbank Communities was responsible for the detailed designs and associated studies submitted to Council for planning approval,” she said.
“The original route for the proposed bridge was through the nearby Navua Reserve. In February 2020, Council considered a report and confirmed its in-principle support for the current route alignment based on the facts that it:
a) Does not involve any loss of public open space.
b) Provides greater flood immunity, above 1:100 flood level.
c) Minimises impact on heritage and biodiversity.
d) Affects only three private property owners.
e) Complements a suite of other roadworks upgrades also required to be delivered in the same Voluntary Planning Agreement.
f) Assists in addressing current traffic levels/congestion.”
Ms Perrine added that the design of the road corridor falls under the National Road Standards, which has “dictated much of the proposed road alignment, rather than an intent (to) avoid any one particular property”.
“The final preferred route has only been determined in recent months and hence, affected property owners have been contacted,” she said.
“The application seeking approval of the proposed bridge has been the subject of extensive community engagement and remains under assessment by an independent planning consultant at this time.”
What are your thoughts on this story? Share them with us in the comments!
Catch a glimpse of an interview with the Wilcox family by watching the video below:
Video Credit: A Current Affair
A vital part of the Redbank North Richmond project, which is headed by developer Redbank Communities, is the construction of a bridge. To make that possible, a road is needed to connect to the new crossing.
Mariane and Peter Wilcox have been supplying Sydney with fresh produce by growing fruit and vegetables on their property for over 20 years.
Despite their years of hard work, the couple was notified that a road will be built straight through where their beloved home currently sits in the form of an application notice, meekly cable tied to a pole beside their driveway.
The Wilcox family's 15-acre property at Richmond (north-west Sydney) is set to be demolished in December.
The notice was cable tied to a pole. Image Credit: A Current Affair
The developer Redbank, Hawkesbury Council and the NSW Government told the Wilcox family that they would forcibly acquire the property for the road leading to the $23.8 million Grose Vale Bridge.
The family said that they were completely blindsided by the decision made by the NSW government, Hawkesbury Council, and the developer.
To add salt to the injury, Mrs Wilcox revealed that she first found out about the project while in a community meeting with other locals.
“I found out at a community meeting in front of a whole lot of other people,” she disclosed.
“They just put a picture of our property up on the screen and said this is where the road is going to run and that is how I found out. It was very heartless.”
The couple were planning to pass the farm down to their son Adam. Father of two Adam Wilcox was left heartbroken, saying that he ‘only knows [how] to farm’.
“Why would you take someone's house? It just doesn't make any sense,” he said tearfully. “I don’t know how much stress they have put on me and my parents. Just for what? Nothing.”
Adam Wilcox (pictured) was left devastated. Image Credit: A Current Affair
Even though Mrs Wilcox was grief-stricken, she pledged to 'fight to the end'.
She started a petition to change the route of the road, arguing that there is plenty of vacant land around their property that could be used instead.
“This project has been designed to go through our farming family's property and directed straight through our family home and farm sheds where we have resided and farmed for 22 years,” she wrote.
“We as the property owners have been treated extremely poorly. We have been discriminated against, treated disrespectfully and our emails and phone calls have not been acknowledged, replied to or actioned.”
Mrs Wilcox explained that their land had historical significance as it had been used to farm for five generations. Not only that but their land is one of the few fertile areas suitable for growing Sydney's food.
“Most of the land further west is unfarmable and the destruction of prime agricultural land with such close proximity to the Sydney population is a travesty,” she said.
“Once farmland is gone, it's gone. This can lead to issues with food security as farming is one of the most important uses of land and there is limited fertile farmland in Sydney.”
Her daughter, Kimberly Wilcox revealed that she was disgusted by how the Hawkesbury council and Redbank development handled the situation.
'This is so disheartening. My parents worked hard their entire life to retire at a property or area they love only for the council to just come in and destroy their whole land,” she said.
The hardworking family. Image Credit: A Current Affair
The $1.2billion Redbank North Richmond project is planned to house 3,900 new residents by 2028.
Hawkesbury City Council Director City Planning Linda Perrine spoke up about the issue detailing that the design of the Grose River Road bridge was part of a joint discussion between Hawkesbury City Council, Transport for NSW and Redbank Communities.
“Redbank Communities was responsible for the detailed designs and associated studies submitted to Council for planning approval,” she said.
“The original route for the proposed bridge was through the nearby Navua Reserve. In February 2020, Council considered a report and confirmed its in-principle support for the current route alignment based on the facts that it:
a) Does not involve any loss of public open space.
b) Provides greater flood immunity, above 1:100 flood level.
c) Minimises impact on heritage and biodiversity.
d) Affects only three private property owners.
e) Complements a suite of other roadworks upgrades also required to be delivered in the same Voluntary Planning Agreement.
f) Assists in addressing current traffic levels/congestion.”
Ms Perrine added that the design of the road corridor falls under the National Road Standards, which has “dictated much of the proposed road alignment, rather than an intent (to) avoid any one particular property”.
“The final preferred route has only been determined in recent months and hence, affected property owners have been contacted,” she said.
“The application seeking approval of the proposed bridge has been the subject of extensive community engagement and remains under assessment by an independent planning consultant at this time.”
What are your thoughts on this story? Share them with us in the comments!
Catch a glimpse of an interview with the Wilcox family by watching the video below:
Video Credit: A Current Affair
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