In 2018, the government for the first time used special compulsory underground purchase laws to take control of the land beneath the Yarraville homes. Now, 58 property owners have signed up to a legal action being led by law firm Slater and Gordon. Among them is 88-year-old Bill Dumbleton, who owns two properties near the existing West Gate Freeway. The tunnels will be dug under his two townhouses, and he is claiming compensation of $40,000 per property. Commercial builder Bill Dumbleton in front of his Yarraville townhouse. Credit:Paul Jeffers “I built them myself 12 years ago,” said Mr Dumbleton, a commercial builder who plans to live in one of the houses eventually. “They are lovely little places. But if I had known a tunnel was going to go underneath, I wouldn’t have built there.”

Mr Dumbleton said the tunnel would reduce the resale value of his houses. “I can’t see any upside for me in having a tunnel under them.” He grew up in Yarraville and runs a building maintenance company. “When they start digging underneath with vibration, what will happen I don’t know. And the soil in the area ... moves a lot, and so there is always cracking.” The “sub-stratum” land underneath a total of 260 properties – including more than 100 homes, mostly in Yarraville – was taken by the government last year.

Letters to home owners said they could be entitled to compensation if they could show a financial loss from seizure of the land beneath properties. But the letters also said such a loss was unlikely. “Melbourne now has a significant number of properties above the City Loop, CityLink and EastLink tunnels,” said the correspondence from Peter Sammut, chief executive of the authority overseeing the project. “The Valuer-General Victoria has found there is generally little difference in the values of properties above tunnels compared to others in the same area,” he said. Land titles created before 1891 entitle ownership of the land to the centre of the earth, while those issued after that year grant ownership to only 50 feet – or about 15 metres. The tunnels beneath homes range in depth from 10 metres below properties down to 27 metres.

Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Slater and Gordon lawyer Manisha Blencowe is leading the action against the government and said her firm was submitting an initial six claims that broadly represented the issues faced by all 58 clients. She said this would hopefully resolve the others quickly if the government agreed there were losses from tunnelling beneath homes. If an agreement could not be reached, the next step was the Supreme Court or the state planning tribunal. Ms Blencowe said evidence gathered by valuers on behalf of residents showed there had already been a drop-off in the ability of those with a tunnel to be built beneath them to sell. “They have identified a clear drop in value,” Ms Blencowe said. “There are also some properties that appear to have suffered a decrease even before the acquisition date because there was a plan for a tunnel."

Ms Blencowe said market evidence suggested potential buyers had a range of concerns about damage to properties during construction and traffic issues while tunnel building was under way. And she cited the example of WestConnex in Sydney, Australia’s biggest motorway project, where home owners with a tunnel beneath them have reported gaping cracks in their walls caused by the works. Their claims for compensation have been denied. Ms Blencowe said the six clients she represented included an elderly couple who planned to sell to move into a retirement home – they are claiming $120,000 – and an owner who had sold her Yarraville home for a lower price than expected. She is claiming $45,000. Mr Sammut, from the West Gate Tunnel project, said any owner who believed they had been financially impacted could submit a compensation claim. “In most instances these acquisitions start more than 15 metres underground and property owners will continue to be able to use their land as they do now,” he said.

The West Gate Tunnel will allow trucks better access to the port, but will also increase vehicle traffic into the CBD. The tunnel's construction timetable is running almost a year late. It is due to be finished in 2022.