In scenes reminiscent of The Castle, a man is fighting to stop a highway from encroaching on his family home.
William Steers, who lives in Boat Harbour on Tasmania's north coast, has lived alongside the Bass Highway in a white, weatherboard house for 11 years.
The government is widening the highway right outside the house, with the addition of a median turning lane to make it safer for vehicles to turn into Boat Harbour Primary School.
Mr Steers said the project would put fast-moving highway traffic closer to his front door.
"At the end of the day, they're devaluing a nice little family home," he said.
The Department of State Growth originally wanted to knock down the house but has since changed their plans.
Mr Steers said they offered him $215,000 to buy the property but he turned it down because "that's pocket money".
"That's not even enough to set back up again," he said.
Mr Steers said State Growth had made other offers, such as a compensation fee and six months free rent.
But what he wanted was to stay on his property and for the government to build him a new house further away from the road.
Mr Steers said he had no intention of moving and was told that if he didn't sell, State Growth would "just go around you and take this bit of land and this bit of land".
The department would not confirm specifically what had been offered to Mr Steers as "State Growth does not comment on the details of property acquisition negotiations".
However, a spokesperson did confirm they had offered to acquire the whole property but the "proposal was not supported".
"The department then investigated opportunities to lessen the impact on the property," the spokesperson said.
"This included realignment of the road and construction of a barrier, which allowed for a smaller portion of the land to be acquired. The design has been assessed as complying with relevant Australian standards."
The widening at Boat Harbour is part of a $40 million upgrade to the Bass Highway, west of Wynyard, that the state government promised in 2018.
The Boat Harbour Primary School Association has been campaigning to improve the safety of the intersection for the past decade.
Chair Kathryn Dickson did not want to comment on the property dispute, however, she said the community wanted improved safety at the junction.
"We just want a safe passage for our kids and the wider community," she said.
The plans were put out for community consultation in 2019, with revised designs put to tender in May 2020.
Lachlan Bennett
Lachlan Bennett is a journalist based in Burnie with an interest in politics, primary industries, transportation, tourism and the West Coast.
Lachlan Bennett is a journalist based in Burnie with an interest in politics, primary industries, transportation, tourism and the West Coast.
