Mystery surrounds abandoned, uncompleted townhouses on Ringwood’s Mullum Mullum Rd
An 11-townhouse development on a former tennis court site in Ringwood has been abandoned for a year, outraging neighbours and sparking concerns another builder has gone under.
Outer East
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There are fears the developer of 11 Ringwood townhouses has gone bust, leaving behind an abandoned eyesore and an unsafe site.
Maroondah Council approved a permit for the development at 14 Mullum Mullum Rd — the former home of five community tennis courts — in January 2018.
According to the council’s website, the permit has been suspended as the builder had “ceased to be engaged”.
Maroondah Leader understands construction began on the site in mid-2018 and came to a halt in April last year.
Concerns about the abandoned site come after the collapse of outer east builder Busby Homes, which called in liquidators last month.
The family owned company had 114 creditors owed money and left 10 clients with unfinished homes.
It is believed the Ringwood townhouses were sold off the plan in 2017, and advertisements on real estate websites show they are under offer or have been withdrawn for sale.
One advertisement indicates all but one of the townhouses had been sold.
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Neighbour Caroline, who did not want her surname used, said she had not seen builders on the site for almost a year.
She said the site was littered with rats and vermin and fencing was removed last month.
“It’s a concern because there’s an overgrowth now of weeds, and kids are getting in there and breaking windows,” she said.
“The security has been removed, and if anyone wanders in there in the dark, there’s going to be a devastating outcome.”
Caroline said she feared for those who had bought the townhouses and how much money they could have lost.
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“It’s just a generally nasty looking development,” she said.
“There’s been 11-12 buyers impacted by this, who knows what happened with their refund of funds, it must be devastating.”