The 'dangerous' acoustic railway fence on no man's land in Flinders

The acoustic fence on Whittaker Street, which separates homes and a park from the railway line, has been falling apart for years, resident Paul Wheeler said.

The fence has deteriorated so much that chunks of it have fallen into Mr Wheeler's backyard, and gaping sections have fallen away completely a few doors down at Bendoura Park.

But just who owns the fence is a matter of debate and it's left the Shellharbour resident in limbo.

When Mr Wheeler purchased his block from a developer 18 years ago, he was told the fence was Sydney Trains' property, but as the fence fell apart he was given the "run around" by government departments.

He claims Shellharbour council told him the fence was Transport for NSW's (TfNSW) property. The transport authority said it was council's responsibility.

"It just bounced back and forth," Mr Wheeler said. "It's not only unsightly, it's dangerous. No one wants anything to do with it."

TfNSW told the Mercury the fence was built by the developer and the transport authority was not responsible for its maintenance.

Also, when the land was subdivided and sold off to people looking to build a family home, each lot owner became responsible for maintaining and repairing their section of the wall.

Mr Wheeler said this is correct and when said he'd previously offered to fix the fence, if TfNSW provided the materials, he was told not to touch it.

"They said no emphatically 'no, don't go anywhere near it, it's an OH&S thing'," he said.

"I tried to fix it the other day and it was dangerous, bloody dangerous."

A Shellharbour council spokeswoman initially told the Mercury "responsibility for works [on the fence] is a matter between landowners and the [NSW Government run] Transport Asset Holding Entity for NSW" .

Following the Mercury's involvement, TfNSW told Shellharbour council it was responsible for maintaining the section of fence along Bendoura Park.

A council spokeswoman then said council had organised for the fence at the rear of the park to be replaced.

"Council continues to take responsibility for above standard fence replacement where it borders council land," she said.

Mr Wheeler was left shocked and angry by TfNSW's response to the Mercury.

"When we bought around 18 years ago we were it wasn't our land. Our land starts three meters in from that wall," he said.

"If they fix mine they've got to fix everyone's and it's going to be a lot of money. They've changed the whole border of when we first built so they don't have any responsibility.

"We had the land surveyed 12 months ago and it showed the fence isn't on my land."