The Parliament’s Public Works Committee has heard that no properties have yet been identified for compulsory acquisition as part of the Torrens to Darlington project.
That’s despite repeated promises from the Minister for Transport Corey Wingard that people would know by now if their homes and businesses were to be demolished.
Mr Wingard told ABC Television on 11 November 2020 that residents would be informed in six months, stating:
“We’ll be finalising the reference design and that will be by the middle of next year.”
Worried locals were told at public drop-in sessions last year that the reference design would be complete by mid-2021. This design would indicate the land needed for the new roadway. DIT officials stated that compulsory acquisition letters would be posted as soon as the reference design was complete.
The project’s Executive Director Susana Fueyo indicated to the Committee today that deadline won’t be met – leaving anxious locals in limbo for even longer.
No indication was provided about when compulsory land acquisitions will be identified. The entirety of the above-ground section of the Torrens to Darlington project falls in the marginal seat of Badcoe.
Comments from the Member for Badcoe Jayne Stinson:
We know at least 400 homes and businesses will be demolished by the government to make way for the road – but we still don’t know which ones.
It’s already been an anxious seven-month wait for South Road residents, who’ve had to put on hold important decisions about their homes and businesses.
While my community knows the road upgrade is necessary, it’s cruel to leave people in limbo – not knowing if they’ll be living in their home or running their business in coming months or years.
Local infrastructure upgrades – including upgrades at Glandore Oval – are also under a cloud, with uncertainty about whether the new works will be ripped up in coming years.