Mary Valley land on sale soon
STATE government land in the Mary Valley is expected to start coming onto the property market soon.
But Gympie Region Mayor Ron Dyne has this week warned the sale process has to be handled with care, to avoid threatening property values throughout the Gympie and nearby Sunshine Coast Regional Council areas.
He says he understands the government is keen to start a gradual and orderly process to sell the land.
“But they are not going to flood the market,” he said.
This follows news of planned state legislative changes which remove reference to the Traveston Crossing dam from all relevant government regulations.
“They need to release it in small increments or they would be risking the whole property market of the Gympie Region and the adjoining Sunshine Coast Regional Council area.
“It’s got potential to affect land prices all over, not just in the Mary Valley.
“Someone with a couple of hundred acres near Tin Can Bay might not get as much money for it if similar land is available cheaply in the Mary Valley.
“They shouldn’t be looking at the Mary Valley in isolation.”
The Government purchased nearly 500 Mary Valley properties for the Traveston Crossing dam project, which was rejected on environmental grounds in 2009.
Deputy Mayor Tony Perrett, also a Mary Valley Renewal Team member, said the co-ordinator-general’s department had indicated it wanted to start selling the land soon.
