THE Department of Justice had received 155 applications for the bushfire property buyback scheme by last Wednesday.
Thursday, May 31 is the final day for residents to apply to have their bushfire-affected properties purchased by the state government.
To be eligible, landowners must have lost their principal place of residence in the Black Saturday bushfires of 2009 and not have begun rebuilding. In addition they must not have a suitable home site more than 100 metres away from forest vegetation on their bushfire affected property.
Land is valued by the Valuer-General Victoria as vacant unimproved land at both its value before the bushfire on January 1, 2009 and current market value, and the greater of the two is then offered to the landowner.
“To date, 102 properties of the 155 applications received have already progressed to the valuation stage,” said a spokesperson for Minister for Bushfire Response Peter Ryan. The spokesperson said the level of response was expected.
Whittlesea resident and artist Lee McGill (pictured) lost her Flowerdale home and studio in the fires. She recently received a valuation for the home under the buyback scheme and said it was less than she had hoped.
“Probably I’ll still take it because I don’t feel like there’s any other option,” she said.
She said she was offered the pre-bushfire value, and believed that’s what most people were offered, because land values in bush areas had dropped since the fires.
Residents have 30 days to make a decision after receiving their valuations.
“I’ve been there nearly 20 years and 30 days is not sufficient time to make a decision like that,” Ms McGill said. “It’s occupying all my thoughts.”
