A recommendation that negotiations be undertaken with the Yass Soldiers Club for the exchange of Lot 4 DP557069 at the rear of the Club for part Lot 100 DP1134246 and part Lot 5 Sec 21 DP759136 along Chinamans Creek, will be put before Yass Valley Council tonight.
A request has been received from the Yass Soldiers Club to purchase Council land at the rear of their site in Meehan Street. The Club is seeking to use the land for parking purposes and would integrate this area with their existing car park by removal of the existing barriers.
The site forms part of several Council owned parcels in this locality.
The Council land is classified as “Operational Land’ under the Local Government Act 1993 in recognition of its parking and access functions.
According to the Yass Valley Council Business paper, “Section 8A Local Government Act 1993 specifies the guiding principles for Councils which includes managing land and other assets so that current and future community needs can be met in an affordable way. There is an expectation that the acquisition or disposal of land follows a robust business case analysis. The disposal of Council land at the rear of the Yass Soldiers Club needs to follow this process and needs to be consistent with the Council’s strategic priorities.”
A Councillor Workshop was held on 12 October 2020 to discuss its property portfolio and its alignment with its strategic priorities. The workshop examined the Council land between Lead Street and the rear of the Yass Soldiers Club. The land provides for off-street parking, rear access for commercial properties and Chinamans Creek. Part of Chinamans Creek is owned by the Yass Soldiers Club. Council has recently nominated the development of Chinamans Creek as an open space/stream restoration project for open space funding. One option could be to exchange land between the Club and Council to secure public land along the creek. The Council land also has an important access function for adjoining commercial properties and to allow vehicle and pedestrian movements between each parking area. This access will need to be retained with any transfer of Council land.
The Club has indicated they wish to use the area for parking and are prepared to develop it for this purpose. According to Council, the parking design will need to ensure the site continues to provide rear access to adjoining commercial properties and integrate with other Council land. An alternative option is to exchange land with the Club to secure contiguous public land for the Chinaman’s Creek project.
An independent valuation has not yet been sought at this stage. However, based on Council records of land values the site has an estimated value of $122,196.
According to YVC business paper, “No unfulfilled community need in the public interest has been identified warranting the retention of the land for future public purposes. While the existing parking area is well used it is not operating at full capacity suggesting that additional parking is not yet required. Any future parking demand could be met if the land is developed as a parking area that integrates with the Council’s existing car park off Lead Street. Retention of the site has not been identified in Council’s Regional Community Strategic Plan and associated documents other than Council assets matching community needs. The land is undeveloped and is surplus to Council requirements at this point in time. Disposal of the site by land exchange with the Club is recommended.”
