Glenmore Park residents abandon homes on ‘sinking’ street in Sydney’s west
Three homes stand unsafe and six more are claimed to be falling apart in a street in Sydney’s west where residents says they have seen retaining walls split, ceilings crack and driveways detach from homes.
NSW
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Three homes stand unsafe and abandoned and six more are claimed to be warping and falling apart in a Sydney street where residents say the ground is literally sinking underneath them.
The three abandoned freestanding houses were built by McDonald Jones Homes on a street in Glenmore Park on land developed by construction giant Stockland and sold over several years from 2013.
But McDonald Jones Homes purchased the three properties back in 2018, for between $700,000 and $762,000. They have warped hallways and bowed roofs and been empty and uninhabitable since.
And owners of six nearby homes have seen retaining walls split, ceilings crack and driveways detach from homes.
Every resident to which The Saturday Telegraph spoke believes the unacknowledged but obvious cause of the damage to the homes is subsidence.
The owners of the three abandoned homes bought by McDonald Jones Homes all signed confidentiality agreements. Residents say Stockland has offered to fix issues to their houses in exchange for entering into an agreement.
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A Stockland spokeswoman said: “We are aware of cracking in the walls of some homes in Glenmore Park, and are investigating this with our builder partners to ensure any issues affecting customers are addressed as soon as possible.”
A spokesman for McDonald Jones Homes said “our decision to purchase back the impacted properties was to remove these families from a stressful situation not of their own making.
”The signing of a confidentiality agreement is standard practise in matters like this,” he said.
“McDonald Jones Homes is working cooperatively with Stockland to resolve the matter.”
Retiree Steve Nash, an owner of one of the damaged homes, said what has happened on the street has been appalling.
“There was an old lady living in one of the homes who had a heart attack, but they couldn’t get the ambulance gurney in because the hallway was so warped,” Mr Nash said.
“In another house there was a young family who had just had a baby when the home started buckling. Poor buggers; they got paid out and moved on.
Mr Nash said he has contacted Penrith Council numerous times to fix the street’s road, and pathway, which has started to buckle.
Penrith Council said this week: “Council is unaware of subsidence issues in Glenmore Park.”
While residents say the problems are caused by the area being a former quarry, Penrith Council, Stockland and McDonald Jones Homes offered no explanation for the sinking issues.
A man who lives nearby said while his home has escaped problems, he said of the abandoned homes: “Tradies have said … the whole back is lifting up and the whole thing is collapsing in on itself. The roof inside has collapsed.”