A long-held community ambition to complete a 'green corridor' linking the escarpment and McCauleys Beach is a step closer to being realised after Wollongong City Council resolved to acquire seven hectares of land at Thirroul for the nominal cost of $1.
The acquisition will bring the environmentally and culturally significant site into public ownership, linking the vegetated Hewitts, Woodlands, and Tramway Creek corridors to the Sandon Point Aboriginal Place.
Council resolved to complete the acquisition at Monday's meeting, recognising the desire of the local community to see the seven-hectare block on what's widely known as 'Ray Hannah Land' shift from private ownership into public hands.
It follows negotiations with the landowner, High Dune Pty Ltd (High Dune), to purchase the site, creating a larger public open space and completing the green corridor. The acquisition will allow Council to assume responsibility for preserving and enhancing the environmental and cultural values of the site and maintaining ecological links and biodiversity across the broader Sandon Point area.
The surrounding area within the catchment has benefitted from bush regeneration works carried out in partnership with the Illawarra Local Aboriginal Land Council as well as the love and care of various Bush and Dunecare groups, who've long desired Council's acquisition of the land on behalf of the community, over many years.
Lord Mayor of Wollongong Councillor Tania Brown said the purchase will release more public space for the community and allow Council to continue environmental restoration efforts within the culturally significant catchment.
"We know that building a sustainable Wollongong is a top priority for our residents and we need to make sure we're facilitating ecologically sustainable development that considers the present and future needs of our community and our environment," Cr Brown said.
"We've known for a quite some time that acquiring this land and completing that corridor is something the local community has been calling for and we're pleased that through productive negotiations we've been able to make that a reality.
"Public open space plays a vital role in building connected communities, and it's important that local people are actively involved in the preservation of our waterways and other natural areas. It's a fitting reward for the years of hard work from Bushcare groups in maintaining the surrounding area with the hope of locking in this final puzzle piece.
"It's a positive development for all parties and I'm glad we were able to achieve this important outcome on behalf of our community."
Having received fresh approaches from the community to investigate acquisition of the site in early 2025, Council undertook a revised assessment of the potential purchase when recently approached by High Dune with a proposal to sell the land at market rate.
Through further negotiations, it was agreed that Council would purchase the land for the nominal amount and assume responsibility for the ongoing management and maintenance of the site, including bush regeneration, weed management, and monitoring and control of invasive species.
While the bulk of the site, zoned C2 Environmental Conservation, will be amalgamated with an existing Council-owned lot, two smaller portions of land zoned R2 Low Density Residential to be retained in private ownership.
