Fight over land sale

By Jim Mynard
TYNONG couple Tas and Lyn Williams say they are devastated because Cardinia Council has moved to transfer land that they consider has been in their ownership since 1979.
They say that when they bought the land at 38 Railway Avenue their title clearly stated that they were proprietors of land coloured red, their block, and land coloured blue, which is also delineated as Goodwin Street.
This wording has opened a legal minefield that solicitors say can only be properly resolved in court.
However, the Williams family said they had already spent $3000 on a barrister, would be paying more to their solicitor and so far have got nowhere.
Goodwin Street is shown on subdivision plans as running from Railway Avenue to Howitt Street, which in turn links Goodwin and View Streets, but the streets have been unused for 100 years.
The council claimed Goodwin Street and deemed it as not reasonably required for use as a public road and decided to sell it for use as a post office.
The couple’s sons, Peter and Geoff, have demanded to know what gave the council the right to push their parents around by taking the land.
They said the council should have looked more closely at the documents they held before deciding in camera to take the land because it clearly stated on the title that it belonged to the Williams.
“They bought the land more than 22 years ago and have maintained that piece and the rest of Goodwin Street at their expense. The first we knew about this was a letter from the council saying the road would be closed and sold.
“We were told that it was just bad luck,” they said.
Bunyip Ward councillor Bill Pearson said he had looked at every avenue to assure himself that the council did have ownership of the land.
“The council has received advice that it clearly owns the land.”
He said the land would be rezoned to commercial to allow a post office to be built on the site.
Cr Pearson said the council was prepared to pay some compensation to the family because Mr Williams had maintained both sections of Goodwin Street for many years.
Mr and Mrs Williams’s solicitors say that a person should be entitled to believe what was on their certificate of title and this said the section of Goodwin Street was attached to number 38.