FRIDAY, July 9 is a date Jerberra Estate residents will not forget.
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Today is the final day residents in the controversial paper estate were given to declare their intention and timetable for leaving their homes.
By yesterday morning council’s solicitor had received one reply and it was from Jerberra Estate resident and Jerberra Estate Action Group president Kerrie Lees.
She informed the solicitor she would not be filing her intentions of leaving the estate by today’s deadline.
“I told them I don’t feel it’s fair that we have been given a deadline of today when council will be meeting with the Lands Minister Tony Kelly on Tuesday.
“Why should we have to give a decision today? It’s not right to do so before the mayor has spoken to Tony Kelly in a few days,” she said.
The residents were instructed that if they hadn’t notified council of their intentions by today their next correspondence would be a letter requesting them to attend court.
“If we do not hear from you by 9 July 2010 we will commence proceedings in the Land and Environment Court without further notice and seek an order for costs,” it said.
“I told the solicitor I would not be giving my answer until the end of next week, after the minister’s visit.
“The solicitor told me that would be all right.
“I couldn’t speak on behalf of the whole estate.
“We are still under a lot of pressure and it is getting to us. A lot of families are frightened and arguing over this.”
Council is seeking orders from the court to prevent the continued and future occupation of Jerberra Estate because the land had never been zoned for residential use.
The rezoning of the land within the estate has been an ongoing issue for more than 20 years.
When the residents received the eviction notice recently some claimed they would rather die than leave their homes, which prompted a letter from the council stating it understood “this is a distressing situation for many residents, and does not wish any resident to be harmed”.
The letter also stated there was concern that the estate was not a safe place for residents to live, as it has not been properly assessed in accordance with the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.
Shoalhaven Mayor Paul Green will meet with the NSW Planning Minister Tony Kelly on Tuesday, to progress discussions on the rezoning proposals for Jerberra Estate.
Cr Green said that he hoped that Minister Kelly would show a little more compassion than previous ministers and would be open to understanding the plight of the current landowners and the social outcomes of the government’s decisions.
