‘Disgraceful’: Families told to surrender backyards

Families who thought they’d bought the great Australian dream are now being told to hand part of it back, in a backyard bombshell that’s left residents furious. Homeowners in Mornington, on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, say they’ve been blindsided by council after learning huge chunks of their backyards, fenced off and cared for over decades, are allegedly not theirs at all. Now, some are being ordered to rip down fences, pay for surveyors and hand back land they say has been treated as part of their properties for as long as anyone can remember. MORE NEWS Creepy Aus town lures buyers with $220k homes Woman loses claim to home promised by dying parents Entire Aus suburb fight over ‘joke’ parking act For Charlotte and Char, who bought their home four years ago to raise a family, the sprawling backyard was everything. Now, they say, more than half of it could be gone. “It essentially cuts more than half of the backyard,” Charlotte said on A Current Affair. Mornington residents have been told their backyards aren’t theirs anymore. Source: A Current Affair The couple said the outdoor area has become the heart of family life, where their son learned to walk and is now learning to rid...