At first, wary residents thought Darren Martin was a scammer when he knocked on their doors and said their homes were built on potentially contaminated land.Liam Martin at his Wonthaggi property with his father Darren.His son Liam bought a block in a North Wonthaggi housing estate on the Bass Coast last year, intending to begin building his home this month.
He said the stress of potential contamination was now hanging over owners, who should have been notified as part of the planning process. They then realised hundreds of other people might also be unaware of the overlay, so Darren and Liam typed up letters and began distributing them in person.Darren said some homeowners refused to believe it at first. “They thought it was some sort of scam. I was just somebody off the street.”
Recently, the Victorian Planning Authority became more involved in planning for development at North Wonthaggi – part of the state government’s push to fast-track housing construction. But Kilkenny on Friday confirmed the planning authority and Bass Coast Shire would now co-fund the preliminary assessments.Credit:“We know there are a number of affected landholders in Wonthaggi, and we are doing everything we can to get a better outcome for them,” she said.
Darren said the overlay was causing long and costly construction delays and owners feared the saga may erode property prices due to the stigma of possible contamination.Liam said delays associated with the overlay could add tens of thousands of dollars to the cost of building his four-bedroom house. He had hoped to begin building before changes to the national construction code came into effect this month, which have increased prices even further.