Couple’s retirement dreams in ruins after major highway bypass upgrade

A couple who bought a plot of land in the hope it would be worth more than $5.5million to fund their retirement have lost a legal battle with Transport for NSW after their rural acreage was swallowed by the Pacific Highway upgrade for a fraction of the price. 

Raymond and Wendy Dibb bought 2.7hectares at Korora, on the outskirts of Coffs Harbour on the NSW north coast, for $118,000 in 1988 with a plan to subdivide it into 26 lots and sell it off in years to come.

They planned to fund the development with a credit loan from their eldest son, who co-founded a gold mining company in Africa.

The land speculation looked set to pay off when in 1996 when Coffs Harbour Council rezoned the land as residential, which paved the way for redevelopment. 

But five years later, the NSW government urged the council against rezoning the land until the new route for the Pacific Highway was decided.

Transport for NSW compulsorily acquired the land in 2021, valuing it at $1.062million – five times less than the couple’s estimate.

The Dibbs took Transport for NSW to court, arguing it was really worth $5.5million, but lost the case at the end of June with the court awarding them just $1.359million in compensation. 

‘This was a pretty significant financial transaction that’s really gone bad for us,’ a devastated Raymond Dibb told the Sydney Morning Herald. 

‘And it’s got nothing to do with our investment choices.

‘We’re talking about landowners just minding their own business, and someone comes knocking on your door, saying “we’re going to take your land”.’

Mr Dibb said that most landowners settled with the government ‘with a gun to their head’ at much lower prices than their land was worth.

He claimed that Transport for NSW originally offered the couple just $470,000 for their land five years ago.

‘I can’t let this go because we’re talking millions of dollars,’ Mr Dibb said. 

‘We could have resolved this much earlier if it was only about the self-interest aspect, but the number of people I’ve spoken to over the years (whose land was affected by the bypass), you would break down and cry if you heard their stories.’

Mr Dibb said he was considering whether to take the case to the High Court. 

Daily Mail Australia approached Transport for NSW for comment. 

The Pacific Highway is Australia’s largest road infrastructure project, costing $2.2billion.

The Dibbs’ plot of land will be the site of a major intersection when the bypass opens to traffic in late 2026. 

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