Broderick Spears & other residents, angry that Blacktown council want to acquire their homes sometime in the future & then rezone the land for use as open space.pic b=Broderick Spears with his wife Jenny & their kids 12yo Chloe & 9yo Rebekah, outside the Salisbury St home that the girls grandmother had left to then as inheritance.pic c=Voula Stratikopoulos.pic d=Jim Vlahos.pic e=Jenny Spears.pic f=Mario Bicer. Pictures: Gary Warrick
Broderick Spears & other residents, angry that Blacktown council want to acquire their homes sometime in the future & then rezone the land for use as open space.pic b=Broderick Spears with his wife Jenny & their kids 12yo Chloe & 9yo Rebekah, outside the Salisbury St home that the girls grandmother had left to then as inheritance.pic c=Voula Stratikopoulos.pic d=Jim Vlahos.pic e=Jenny Spears.pic f=Mario Bicer. Pictures: Gary Warrick
Broderick Spears & other residents, angry that Blacktown council want to acquire their homes sometime in the future & then rezone the land for use as open space.pic b=Broderick Spears with his wife Jenny & their kids 12yo Chloe & 9yo Rebekah, outside the Salisbury St home that the girls grandmother had left to then as inheritance.pic c=Voula Stratikopoulos.pic d=Jim Vlahos.pic e=Jenny Spears.pic f=Mario Bicer. Pictures: Gary Warrick
Broderick Spears & other residents, angry that Blacktown council want to acquire their homes sometime in the future & then rezone the land for use as open space.pic b=Broderick Spears with his wife Jenny & their kids 12yo Chloe & 9yo Rebekah, outside the Salisbury St home that the girls grandmother had left to then as inheritance.pic c=Voula Stratikopoulos.pic d=Jim Vlahos.pic e=Jenny Spears.pic f=Mario Bicer. Pictures: Gary Warrick
Broderick Spears & other residents, angry that Blacktown council want to acquire their homes sometime in the future & then rezone the land for use as open space.pic b=Broderick Spears with his wife Jenny & their kids 12yo Chloe & 9yo Rebekah, outside the Salisbury St home that the girls grandmother had left to then as inheritance.pic c=Voula Stratikopoulos.pic d=Jim Vlahos.pic e=Jenny Spears.pic f=Mario Bicer. Pictures: Gary Warrick
Broderick Spears & other residents, angry that Blacktown council want to acquire their homes sometime in the future & then rezone the land for use as open space.pic b=Broderick Spears with his wife Jenny & their kids 12yo Chloe & 9yo Rebekah, outside the Salisbury St home that the girls grandmother had left to then as inheritance.pic c=Voula Stratikopoulos.pic d=Jim Vlahos.pic e=Jenny Spears.pic f=Mario Bicer. Pictures: Gary Warrick
MARIO Bicer spent $450,000 rebuilding his two-storey home for his wheelchair-bound son, Veli, three years ago.
But the hard work and money may go to waste if Blacktown Council goes ahead with plans to acquire his home and rezone the land as recreation space.
It's one of 63 homes in Mount Druitt that the council proposes to acquire and rezone as RE1 public recreation as part of its draft local environment plan 2013 (BLEP).
Many homes are minutes away from all the amenities residents need.
The council proposes to acquire and rezone another 50 homes in Rooty Hill.
Mr Bicer's daughter, Ozlem Coruk, lives a few streets away with her own family.
She believes the former Waterworks site would be ideal as recreation space.
"We're asking the council not to take our land and instead go to the empty spaces around here," she said.
Another resident, Jim Vlahos, put off his plans for house renovations, with $800 of tiles going to waste.
"The council has been planning this since 2006 and we were told in January," he said.
"They approved my development application to extend the back of my house three years ago, which cost $40,000. If I knew this was going to happen, I wouldn't have spent the money."
A council spokeswoman said the draft 2013 BLEP was a long-term plan for the city.
"The acquisition of land for a public purpose will take place over a long time as the area develops," she said
Compensation will be at the market value of the land at the date of the acquisition, based on the highest and best use of the property.
The council may pay other legal and valuation costs, depending on individual circumstances.
"A series of one-on-one information sessions are being held throughout the public exhibition period," the council's spokeswoman said.
Residents have until April 19 to comment on the BLEP 2013.
Details: 9839 6000 or visit apps
.blacktown.nsw.gov.au/blep2013.
What the residents said:
Mario Bicer: ‘‘I’ve lived here for 27 years. It’s devastating. My grandchildren live here and our memories are here. Where else can we go where we have everything? We have good neighbours and wouldn’t find a better area than this. I want council to take their hands off our homes.’’
Jennifer Spears: ‘‘My mother left the house to our two daughters. We lost her four years ago. Now it feels we’re losing her altogether. We don’t even know if we’ll be compensated. Can we relocate [to] where it’s [as] convenient for us as it is here?’’
Jim Vlahos: ‘‘I’m annoyed and disappointed. I was about to start renovating the hallway when I found out. I don’t want to move anywhere else. I spent 18 months looking before I found this house. We are working class battlers, not James Packers!’’
Voula Stratikopoulos: ‘‘I have lived here for 25 years. The proposal is ridiculous as there’s empty vacant land that can be seriously considered before taking our houses away. This is a big deal for us because they’re taking away our livelihoods