Planning bungles making life on Duranta Drive in Gowanbrae unbearable, homeowners say

HOMEOWNERS already battling a pile of problems in one of Melbourne’s shoddiest streets have just suffered another blow, with a local council saying it’s up to them to clear and maintain land left abandoned and rubbish-choked.

Frustrated Duranta Drive residents Deb Tagell, Gerard Bates, Elaine Mynard, Scott Tagell and Bree Salloum. Picture:Rob Leeson.

UPDATE: A council has told new homeowners in a shoddy Gowanbrae street it’s up to them to clear and maintain land left abandoned and rubbish-choked.

But residents of Duranta Drive, also battling countless problems no authority will fix, like driveways too narrow for vehicles, inacessible backyards and broken fences, have refused.

Four blocks on a disastrous new estate in the street can’t be built on as access is needed to water mains, and they are now covered with building debris, weeds and half-finished stairways.

Moreland Council have refused to deal with it, instead telling the estate’s homeowners to establish a body corporate, and clear the vacant land themselves.

GLEN IRIS’ BOTCHED $5.5 MILLION FIRE STATION

BANKRUPTCY OVER BATTLE TO BUILD DREAM HOME

The council’s director of planning and economic development, Kirsten Cotter, said that land now belonged to the residents and they were responsible for it.

“Council has been assisting the residents of Duranta Dr to address a number of issues and help them understand their rights and obligations as landowners and members of an owners corporation for the estate,” Ms Cotter said.

The homeowners’ spokesman, Gerard Bates, said they were happy to take control of the land, but only once it was landscaped as promised, as there were worries about snakes in the long grass and they would need to buy public liability insurance.

Mani Soni, general manager of the company responsible for construction, Bahl Homes, denied the rubbish was their fault as they “did a proper scrape” and “cleared what we could” after building.

Mr Soni also said he would not landscape the land but could refer residents to one of Bahl Homes’ landscaping subcontractors.

He said the homeowners only had themselves to blame for “buying off the plan”.

Many of the 34 homes on the narrow Gowanbrae street were built with “double” driveways, however homeowners said some were so steep and badly designed cars got scraped driving in and out, and they often had to park diagonally to get off the road.

The drop from the street to the backyards of homes. Picture: Rob Leeson

Don’t look down. Picture: Rob Leeson

Residents are less than impressed with the final product. Picture: Rob Leeson

A row of homes backs onto steep verges and concrete walls up to 5m high, but while the row is fenced off from the street above, the properties are not sectioned off.

A chunk of fence broke off in March, toppling into one of the backyards.

That home’s owner, Paul Salloum, said if anybody had been outside when the fence fell “it would have killed them”.

“Council refused to repair it and the builders said it was not their issue so I got some friends around and we fixed it ourselves,” he said.

The fence that fell into the backyard.

Mr Bates said Mr Mani warned them their back verges were dangerous due to “uneven surfaces and inconsistent dirt”.

Mr Bates said to try and ease the street’s parking woes residents had suggested one vacant block be turned into a carpark. “When I mentioned that this could be a compromise for the stuff-up of the surveyor and the poor planning of the street, council made comment that this was not their doing,” he said.

Steep sets of stairs on two of the empty blocks lead uphill to another street, with one set leading straight to a fence.

A shoddy flight of stairs on an empty block. Picture: Rob Leeson

Mr Bates said neither the builders nor Moreland Council would fix the problems or improve the streetscape. “The developer says it is the builder’s fault, the builder blames the developer and council hasn’t been any help,” he said.

“They are all very noncommittal and they are happy to pass the blame.”

Mr Soni denied his workers had dumped the rubbish, and said he was in the process of constructing dividing gates on top of the concrete walls.

Residents say nobody wants to help them. Picture: Rob Leeson

A fence held secured with tape. Picture: Rob Leeson

Duranta Drive residents said they were promised double driveways.

Some homeowners also have to drag their bins to the other side of the narrow street so garbage trucks can reach them, with the council reportedly sending a smaller truck than usual down the street due to the number of vehicles clogging the road.

In Parliament on June 6, State Legislative Council member Bernie Finn called on planning minister Richard Wynne to hold “a full inquiry into the matter, with a view to getting to the bottom of who is responsible to these people”.

When contacted by the Leader, a spokesperson for Mr Wynne said it was “a matter for local council to resolve and we encourage them to do so quickly”.

MORE NEWS

GRAND SALE, GRAND SALE FOR COZZO

FOOTSCRAY PUB’S SPICY STOUSH OVER TACO TUESDAY