Land Disappears Despite Deeds

WHEN Bob and Helen Twaddell received their water rates they noticed they had mysteriously lost 82 square metres of their land.

They checked their deeds which confirmed they owned 4103 square metres of land, but Council asserted they only owned 4021 square metres.

The Twaddells like their neighbours put their front fence 1.2 metres back from the gutter.

Bob and Helen explained their property in Marquet Street, Merriwa had inherited a development error; their land extends to the gutter of the road so technically they have no footpath but on the other side of the road the footpath is more than 8 metres wide.

The Twaddells don’t mind people walking on the front of their property and like their neighbours they have set their front fence back 1.2 metres from the gutter as a courtesy.

This 1.2 metres roughly equates to the size of the missing land, so it seems Council may have acquired the land without purchasing it from the rightful owners.

“We don’t want kids having to walk on the road, but that doesn’t mean Council can just claim that land,” said Helen Twaddell.

“Matt Pringle (director of environmental and customer services at Council) said it was Council land but they have never shown us any paperwork that proves that,” said Bob Twaddell.

Council claim they based the land size for their water rates on figures given to them from the state government, so the Twaddells requested copies of those specific documents from Council, but they were never provided.

scone.com.au contacted the state government department and they are currently searching their documents for an answer.

The Twaddells simply want to know when and how 82 square metres of their land has become Council land.

Related story: Secret Fencing Business.

The otherside of the road where the footpath is more than 8 metres wide.