The Adelaide house no one should have to live next door to
A FAMILY in Adelaide’s south is fed up, forced to live next to a stinky junk yard where old bikes, crates and other rubbish is piled up to a metre high. Is this our worst front yard?
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A FAMILY in Adelaide’s south is fed up, forced to live next to a residential junk yard where old bikes, crates and other rubbish is piled up to a metre high.
Onkaparinga Council has now ordered the owner to clean up the junk-filled Aberfoyle Park property that has long been a suburban eyesore.
The council has issued an official clean-up notice to the owner of the home on Windebanks Rd.
The owner was told to start removing the rubbish, which also includes cardboard boxes, random debris and a car body.
Onkaparinga director of corporate and city services Alison Hancock said if the homeowner did not abide by the order, the council could take action and engage its own contractors.
She said council staff estimated the clean up would cost between $20,000 and $30,000.
“Our usual approach is to recoup costs, however this is applied dependent on the circumstances prevailing at the time,” Ms Hancock said.
The council order comes after numerous complaints from neighbours about the hoarding, saying it was not a healthy environment for anyone to live near.
Amy Weyland said she had watched the rubbish pile grow over the three years she had lived next door.
“It’s just getting worse and worse,” the mother of three said.
“I am also really concerned about (the resident’s) health. I have been over there to knock on the door to see if he is all right ... it is not healthy for him to be in that environment.”
She said the council cleaned up the front yard just before Christmas last year but since then the problem had worsened.
Windebanks Rd resident Carol Hynes said she had made numerous complaints to the council.
“I have been living here for 39 years and this has got progressively worse in the past 10 years,” Mrs Hynes said.
“The smell and the stench can become unbearable.
“Enough is enough, it is a beautiful suburban neighbourhood.”
Onkaparinga councillor Brian Nankivell said he had no doubt the property was a breeding ground for vermin.
“I think it is a health hazard and ... it is not conducive to a nice tidy environment,” Cr Nankivell said.
“Sometimes these things are difficult, they get cleaned up and the ratepayer (resident) allows it to happen again.”
Junction Australia launched a website early this year to address the growing problem of hoarding and squalor in the south.
Chief executive Graham Brown said the website acted as a one-stop information source for those struggling with hoarding, as well as their families and service providers.
“The website has a set of resources about accessing professional support from a whole list of organisations,” Mr Brown said.
“Often it takes a number of agencies working together along with family to make changes when things get out of control.
“It is a complex issue and it does require understanding, rather than judgment.”
For more information go to junction australia.org.au/hoarding.squalor-support.
Onkaparinga Council is part of several groups, including the Southern Hoarding and Squalor Group, which work to help people and their families affected by hoarding.
In the past 12 months, the council has issued two other enforcement notices on residents to clean up their properties.
The Southern Times Messenger contacted the resident, who declined to comment.