Terry Bourke and Rodney Watt, both of Cessnock Road, say there has been no transfer of ownership on a patch of land at the front of each of their properties that council is trying to clear for a bike path.

Council has acknowledged there is a "property matter associated with the project", but says whilst the issue is still unresolved, they were not in a position to make any further comment.

Both men say council has previously pointed to a government gazette notice back in 1969 saying that there were plans to acquire the land off the owners.

But that change of ownership never happened, the men claim.

"The resumption was never completed," Mr Bourke said. "There was no money paid."

Mr Bourke said the notice period under the Limitation Act had since passed, meaning council would need to give another notice of acquisition to take ownership of the land.

Mr Bourke said he still pays rates on the stretch, while Mr Watt said he did when he first bought the property but no longer does.

Both men said they had received multiple valuations of their properties, and all of them had included the patches of land in question.

Mr Bourke has established a vegetation buffer on the land to protect his house from road noise and weather, which he said council was trying to clear earlier this week for the cycleway.

He even took the step of standing in front of council machinery when workers turned up on Monday.

"My house impinges the area, they said they can build a fence in front of my property, but if they want to do the cycleway properly, they've got to take the lot."

Mr Bourke said when he first bought the property in 1977, he was led to believe that if council did ever need the land, they would pay to move his house further down the property.

But when he approached council recently about this, he claims they said there was no record of it.

"They're being absolute bullies," he said. "If they want that land they should resume it under the current legislation."

For Mr Watt, he is concerned about an aerated wastewater treatment system he has installed. He said Australian standards require him to have a spray area of 200 metres squared, which he won't have if council take the patch of land off him.

"If I have to move the hose, it will cause ponding and rising damp and mould in my house," he said.

"They haven't answered my questions. We're at a bit of a standstill. I just don't know their intentions."