A couple who bought a piece of land hoping it would be worth more than $5.5 million to fund their retirement have lost a legal battle with Transport for NSW after their rural farmland was swallowed up by the Pacific Highway upgrade for a fraction of the price.
Raymond and Wendy Dibb bought 2.7 hectares of land at Korora, on the edge of Coffs Harbour on the New South Wales North Coast, in 1988 for $118,000. They planned to subdivide the land into 26 lots and sell it in the coming years.
They planned to finance the development with a loan from their eldest son, who co-founded a gold mining company in Africa.
The land speculation appeared to pay off when Coffs Harbour City Council rezoned the area as residential in 1996, paving the way for redevelopment.
However, five years later the New South Wales government urged the council not to rezone the area until a new route for the Pacific Highway was determined.
Transport for NSW acquired the land in 2021, valuing it at $1.062 million, five times less than the couple’s estimate.
The Dibbs took Transport for NSW to court, arguing that it was actually worth $5.5 million. They lost the case in late June, with the court awarding them just $1.359 million in damages.
“This was quite a significant financial transaction that ended really badly for us,” a distraught Raymond Dibb told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Raymond and Wendy Dibb bought 2.7 hectares at Korora, on the edge of Coffs Harbour, in 1988 for $118,000 with the plan to divide it into 26 lots and sell it over the next few years.
The Pacific Highway bypass at Coffs Harbour is expected to open to traffic in late 2026. The photo shows the current works between Bruxner Park Road and West Korora Road.
‘And it has nothing to do with our investment choices.
“We’re talking about landowners just going about their business. And then all of a sudden someone comes knocking on your door and says, ‘We’re going to take your land.’”
According to Mr Dibb, most landowners settled with the government “at gunpoint”, with prices far below the value of their land.
He claimed that Transport for NSW originally offered the couple just $470,000 for their land five years ago.
“I can’t just let this go because we’re talking about millions of dollars,” Dibb said.
‘We could have resolved this a lot sooner if it was just about self-interest, but if you look at the number of people I’ve spoken to over the years (whose land was affected by the bypass), you would burst into tears hearing their stories.’
Mr Dibb said he was considering taking the case to the High Court.
The Pacific Highway is Australia’s largest road infrastructure project, costing $2.2 billion
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Transport for NSW for comment.
The Pacific Highway is Australia’s largest road infrastructure project, costing $2.2 billion.
The Dibbs’ land will be the site of a major intersection when the bypass opens to traffic in late 2026.
