A mother and son have been left stranded in their regional NSW home after their driveway was sold without their knowledge.
When Dale and Micah Phillips bought their property in Tarana, northwest of Sydney, 17 years ago, they had access to two paper roads owned by the Crown.
But Ms Phillips said the NSW Government has since sold one of the roads to a neighbour.
The other route was in a bad state and would cost $250,000 to make it safe, according to Lithgow Council.
‘I even got a bulldozer to do it myself, but got a hard no (from Crown Lands),’ Ms Phillips told A Current Affair.
The council refuses to fix the road – and Crown Lands won’t allow Ms Phillips to do it privately.
As a compromise, Dale and Micah have been accessing their property by driving across a neighbour’s cow paddock.
If it’s raining, the paddock becomes too slippery and ‘we don’t go out’, Ms Phillips said.
Dale and Micah Phillips bought their property in Tarana, northwest of Sydney, 17 years ago
At one time, the property was legally accessed by two paper roads owned by the Crown
In one instance, Ms Phillips had to call SES for help when her son blacked out from a medical condition, because the ambulance couldn’t reach them.
‘It was so scary that day,’ she said.
‘Please get here and solve the problem.’
Now even the neighbour has decided to cut off access, leaving the mother and son with no alternative.
Dale, who is vision impaired, has been lobbying Lands and Property Minister Stephen Kamper to make the council acquire the unsafe track and fix it.
‘Crown Lands has been working with Ms Phillips, her solicitor and Lithgow City Council to find alternative solutions for her to legally and practically access her property,’ the department said in a statement.
‘Crown Lands will initiate transfer of the Crown road corridor to Lithgow City Council to provide a solution for Ms Phillips. If required, the road corridor will be considered for mandatory transfer by the Department.’
But the council has argued it shouldn’t foot the bill, and has written to Crown Lands asking them to allow Ms Phillips to repair the road.
Dale and Micah have been accessing their property by driving across a neighbour’s private cow paddock
‘If this is approved, we will work with the resident to discuss the scope of work and how this might be funded,’ Lithgow Council said in a statement.
‘We do not want to see this resident left behind.’
The council argued it does not have the budget and that it had a ‘substantial backlog of maintenance and renewal works throughout the LGA.
Crown Lands, in turn, has told Ms Phillips that she could negotiate with her neighbours to secure an easement for an access track across their private land.
Ms Phillips conceded it would be easier if she sold her house, but doubted anyone would purchase the property.
‘Who’d buy a home without a driveway?’
Daily Mail Australia contacted Lithgow Council and Mr Kamper for comment.
