Palmwoods
District News

December
1998

Page 4

Losing home 'no joke'

A KIEL Mountain Road woman, whose land has been resumed to make way for the Nambour Connection road interchange is about to lose her home and some long-planned dreams.

Carol Spears is one of the last of some 29 properties affected by the Main Roads Department land resumptions (about four faced total resumptions).

Carol, a multi talented crafts woman, teaches craft, including doll making. Still holding on to her property last week, she told of dreams to create a teaching centre/tourist attraction on her 760 sq metre block. She lives there with her family in two small houses. There is also a pool on the property.

Carol said in 1994 she carried out land searches to find out if any road works were planned for her area - she had in mind building small dormitories on the property to house craft students during courses.

The searches showed nothing, so she had plans drawn up, at considerable expense.

Carol said soon after completing these plans, news of the proposed road changes surfaced. A public meeting was held, at which a majority voted for traffic lights at the dangerous intersection.

While involved parties weighed up their options, Carol was left uncertain what her future held.

Last week, Carol was facing the demolition of her and her families home, with no affordable options in sight.

While Carol has been given until December 12 to get out of her home, she has been unable to find a block of land in the area to move her home on to. She said she has looked at options, including buying a house, but all in the area are unaffordable on her $115,000 offer from Main Roads.

Frustrated by her fight with Main Roads, Carol says "The answer is to put this lady in a property to the value of the one she’s got."

But having spent money on legal advice, original development plans, interior decorating of her Kiel Mountain Road property and more, even the $115,000 offer won’t go far.

Carol said she’ d like to move her home if she could get land. Maroochy Shire Council offered to her assist with this possibility but there is no way she’s going to find an affordable block of land and move her home, besser blocks purchased to build her dream dormitories, her kiln and multitude of craft effects.

" I don’t have enough money to move. I don’t have land"

Overwhelmed with her situation, Carol has made a plea to anyone who may have suitable land in the area, who may be able to help her move (Main Roads offer a very small percentage of what her real costs would be to move). Carol says she’ ll never be able to replace what she has spent years establishing, or the dream she had for her property. Phone Carol on 5442 1890.

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