Neglected residents of Wollert estate frustrated by ‘embarrassing’ conditions

The locals call it “The Bronx”. Come check out the Wollert housing estate where frustrated residents’ say their complaints fall on deaf ears.

Residents living in an housing estate in Melbourne’s north have labelled their neighbourhood “the Bronx”, with streets covered in dumped rubbish and weeds due to neglect by land developers and the council.

ID Land began selling land at Amber Estate in Wollert six years ago, but residents are frustrated and embarrassed by the lack of maintenance to the development since.

Homeowners have complained that the promised parks and green spaces are nowhere to be seen, with fields of weeds and overgrown grass taking over the estate instead and streets littered with rubbish.

Frank Cotela, who owns two houses in the estate, said the state of the neighbourhood was “embarrassing”.

“It‘s completely overgrown, there’s rats and snakes … and you’ve got kids riding their bikes through there,” Mr Cotela said.

“I’ve punctured three tires driving around because people won’t clean up.

“The grass is four-feet high, you can barely see anything across it.”

Residents living in Amber Estate have complained that the condition of the neighbourhood is “embarrassing”. (Picture: Supplied)

Mr Cotela said ID Land had “given up” and Whittlesea Council had failed to take responsibility for maintaining the estate.

“Council will point the finger at the developer and developers point of finger back at the council,” he said.

According to residents, complaints had been made to the council staff for the past nine months, but no action had been taken.

“A lot of people want to move out, they are just fed up with the way the place is,” Mr Cotela said.

Tracy Mueller, a resident of the estate since 2019, said the property developer “wasn’t doing anything” to improve the development.

ID Land is in charge of maintaining the land for a period of two years after streetscaping and landscaping is complete, but residents claim they checked out immediately.

“We’ve all paid good money … They have sold their land, they’ve got their money and they’ve moved on.

“We’re called the Bronx … nobody wants to be called the Bronx.”

Residents claim that developer ID Land has “given up” on maintaining the housing estate. (Picture: Supplied)

Another resident, Tanya Attard, said she was attracted to the “beautiful plans” for Amber Estate when she bought her first home there, but the land has not been developed as advertised.

“I wouldn’t purchase here if I saw the way the estate looks now,” Ms Attard said.

“It’s very overwhelming … I used to have pride living here, now I’m just humiliated. It’s just a mess.”

Ms Attard said residents were calling on authorities to “take accountability and responsibility”.

“The developer and the council need to act on these issues immediately.”

A spokesman for ID Land said the council was responsible for maintaining two-thirds of Amber Estate.

“There are still two stages under construction, three stages under landscape maintenance and some park areas that remain the responsibility of ID Land and weather permitting, we are actively maintaining and continuing works on these areas,” they said.

The council has been contacted for comment.