The owners of a 1960s beach house say they’ll fight to the end to save their family home, which stands in the way of a “superhighway” through Caloundra.
One of the last remaining properties left in the land resumption process is 15 Oval Avenue – the family home of teenagers Nic and Luke Carey.
They, along with the rest of Carey family, had hoped the two-bedroom home would remain in the family.
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The teens recently took to social media to express their concern over the Caloundra Transport Corridor Upgrade (CTCU) requiring the family home to be demolished.
They also sent letters to the Sunshine Coast Council saying the road design should be two lanes and not four.
“This is because it would save the home that my great-grandparents Frederick and Harriet Carey built over 60 years ago,” Luke wrote.
“My dad remembers staying at the Caloundra house every holidays … I want to bring my kids there when I’m a dad.
“At first, I told my mum that writing one letter won’t make a difference but then she said that it could – and now I hope that someone like you will see this and change your mind.”
Their father Drew said the teens received a “generic response” to the letters from council.
The $37.8 million CTCU will provide a new connection from Nicklin Way, north of the Caloundra Road roundabout, to the city centre.
It involves widening Oval Avenue and Third Avenue from two to four traffic lanes and connecting Oval Avenue with Omrah Avenue.
Council has been gradually resuming homes along the route of the proposed CTCU.
The Carey home is among the 20 homes and businesses to be resumed, which has created uncertainty among those whose properties lie in the way.
Mr Carey said the entire family was upset over the looming threat of losing the home.
“They contacted us the first time in 2018 and told us that all the properties would be resumed by the end of June 2022,” he said.
“But that time frame has blown out until June this year now.”
He said with the pressure of constantly receiving letters that kept moving the vacant possession date forward, his sister “finally gave in” and moved out of the house late last year.
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“That was so she could have ‘surety’ in her life, and I don’t blame her,” he said.
“My sisters and I inherited the house when our parents passed away – my grandparents built the house when they retired.
“We’d love to keep it and have the opportunity to holiday and live there again. I had hoped it would be a place I might live when I retire and that my kids could utilise it as they get older.”
While council initially began the acquisition process through voluntary resumptions, the application for the land to be taken has now gone to the State Government for the Minister of Resources Scott Stewart to sign-off on.
Mr Carey said council’s resumption consultation used language and correspondence that suggested the project was already a “done deal”.
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“Other residents have just folded, thinking it’s done, and they can’t do anything about it. But in the fine print, the Minister of Resources hasn’t even signed off on the compulsory acquisitions yet,” he said.
He said once the vacate date passed, the property could be legally seized.
“We’ve written to the Minister of Resources and highlighted some aspects that we think apply on a state level, as to why the resumptions shouldn’t be finalised,” he said.
“If the minister doesn’t approve it, then we can continue to fight or to negotiate to keep the property.
“But the once the minister formalises the compulsory acquisition, then legally we’ve got no basis or ability to keep fighting past that point.”
Council voted to start purchasing land for the corridor at its ordinary meeting on January 31, 2019. It then began contacting property owners affected by the project, with letters to relevant landowners in February 2019.
A council spokesperson said it had been liaising with directly impacted property and business owners over many years during the planning and development phase, and would continue to do so throughout the project.
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Council confirmed it had acquired the majority of properties since then and continued to negotiate with the remaining landowners, who have been advised the resumption process has begun.
“On February 9, 2023, council advised impacted landowners and tenants that subject to the Queensland Government’s resumptions of the remaining five properties required for the project, the vacant possession date was being extended from March 31, 2023, to Friday, June 30, 2023,” the spokesperson said.
“This provided property occupiers with additional time to relocate to alternative premises. Council continues to work with the State Government to progress the application.”
Value Caloundra representative and active transport engineer Prue Oswin dubbed the Carey family as courageous.
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“I have met the residents and they have retained hope in very difficult circumstances,” she said.
“Luke Carey’s letter resonated with hundreds and hundreds of people in our community and has been shared more than 120 times on Facebook.
“Mr Carey is an engineer like me. We’ve both raised similar questions about the project. One thing we question is why has the project has been modelled to assume almost all traffic will take Oval Avenue?
“If the capacity of the road is slightly reduced, we could potentially have an option that doesn’t involve this devastation to homes, local sport clubs, parks and businesses.”
Mr Carey said the new “superhighway” would potentially destroy that entire corner of Caloundra.
“We are trying to re-engage with council and the CTCU Stakeholder Interest Group (SIG) to reconsider the proposed traffic modelling,” the civil structural engineer said.
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“We hope that if there was an alternative traffic model design with a smaller two-lane footprint, it would mean the house would not be required.
“Even if the road reserve needed to be widened, then the potential to maintain the actual building on the property and maybe a reduced fence line would be an option.”
The Department of Transport and Main Roads and council are currently reviewing concept designs, which is expected to be finalised in late 2023, and have selected Aurecon for detailed design work.
Construction of sections one and two (including early works) is scheduled to start in late 2023 or early 2024, weather and construction conditions permitting.
Completion and opening of the project is expected in late 2025. For project updates click here.
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