Gilles Plains man appeals council enforcement notice to remove 34 cars from his yard
A man is fighting a Tea Tree Gully Council order to remove 34 “disused and unroadworthy” vehicles at his two adjacent homes ... and he has a creative argument for wanting to keep them.
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A Gilles Plains man whom a council says is running an unauthorised wrecking yard has appealed against its order to remove 34 vehicles from his properties.
Tea Tree Gully Council inspected Charitha Shivanke Udakada Upasakage’s properties at 3 and 5 Padbury Rd on July 17 and found many “disused and unroadworthy cars” – but he has claimed he drives “at least 20” of the vehicles.
The inspection officer found 12 cars in each of the backyards, seven at the front of 3 Padbury Rd and three at the front of 5 Padbury Rd.
The council instructed Mr Upasakage to remove some of the cars due to the “unsightly appearance of both premises” and the land had become an unauthorised “junkyard/wrecking yard”.
In court documents seen by The Messenger, Mr Upasakage was permitted to keep some vehicles which were deemed used for “regular transportation”.
However, in an email to the council’s inspection officer in August, tabled in the Environment, Resources and Development Court, Mr Upasakage said calling his property a junkyard was an “over exaggeration of the situation providing misleading information to authorities”.
He said the enforcement notice, for keeping cars such as a Jeep Cherokee and a 1982 Chrysler, was unfair.
“Please refer to the dictionary for the meanings of the words junkyard/wrecking yard,” Mr Upasakage wrote in his email.
“I haven’t used the land for wrecking or selling parts or scrap.
“Only persons in South Australia to judge cars being unroadworthy are police officers and authorised officers of the department of transportation.
“So calling my cars unroadworthy may not be ethical without at least having appropriate training, qualifications.”
In his statement of appeal, Mr Upasakage said he was doing his best to assist the council but the council “wants most of my personal cars gone”.
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He said “at least 20” of the cars had been driven, including on racetracks, over the past two years.
“It is pushing me to the limits and stressing me out due to false enforcement notice,” Mr Upasakage said in his statement.
In a further email to the council last August, tabled in court, Mr Upasakage stressed that he had cleaned up his property and removed several cars since receiving the enforcement notice.
At a conference on February 13 this year, Mr Upasakage was told to remove all cars from his front yard by Christmas.
However, five cars remained parked outside 3 Padbury Rd on Tuesday.
A further conference hearing has been set for March 17.