Can council reposition road on my land?

[solo177]

About 1 year ago I bought approx 65ha of land in the mountains (Queensland) and there is "public" road coming though my property. This road is not maintained by the council and not used by anyone except me. Recently I checked maps on QLD Government website and found out that this road is "of the line " - it is located approx 50 meters inside my property (not within government land borders). I spoke to previous owner and he told me that original council road was destroyed by the land slide about 25 years ago and this part of the road was simply rebuilt through my land.

I don't have any easements on my land title.

The question is - can council re-align or re-position road borders on my land against my will?

The problem is that sometimes on weekends there are 4x4 wheel drivers coming to my mountain and use this road as a 4x4 track and destroy it. Every 2-3 month I have to fix it because of them. Since now I know that this road is on my land (not council) I just want to install gates and lock it.

 

[solo177]

 

[Rob Legat - SBPL]

Can they do it? Yes. Can they just do it because they 'feel like it'? No. Roads must be created by a process, such as dedication by agreement or legislative power (such as resumption). I suggest you check the registered plans for your property held by the State government - not maps. Then, check Council records of road declarations.

Assuming there's no legal basis for the current placement of the road, I'd suggest approaching Council to discuss the issue before erecting gates and the like.