The NSW Land & Environment Court has recently (July 2019) published its decision in respect of what is probably NSW’s largest ever claim for compensation involving the acquisition of land.
In 2014, the WestConnex Development Authority (WDA) identified a parcel of land as the site for the St Peters interchange, part of the WestConnex Motorway Project in Sydney, which is one of Australia’s largest infrastructure projects.
The site concerned was owned by Alexandria Landfill Pty Ltd (ALF). Negotiations to acquire the land proved unsuccessful, and in December the WDA gazetted the proposed acquisition of the land. The Valuer-General assessed compensation at $70 million, including $56.9 million for market value and $13 million for disturbance. This was unacceptable to ALF who claimed $583 million including £273 million for the market value of the land, $60m for special value and £179m for disturbance costs (including “lost profits”).
The hearing in the Land & Environment Court ran in stages from November 2017 to May 2018. Using a discounted cash flow methodology, the market value was assessed at $49.7m. The Court substantially rejected the claims for disturbance and special value and ultimately assessed ALF’s compensation entitlement at just $50.1 million.
This case demonstrates the potential financial scope on which the Court may have to adjudicate.
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