Overgrown, vacant property to be cleaned by council, is music to neighbours ears

COUNCIL workers will begin tending to an overgrown, abandoned Karama home, posing a fire hazard to neighbouring properties

Irene Kossaris with daughter Sevasti Kossaris at her back fence which has been destroyed by overgrowth from the property next door which has been left vacant for years. Picture: Katrina Bridgeford

COUNCIL workers will begin tending to an overgrown, abandoned Karama home, posing a fire hazard to neighbouring properties.

After multiple untidy allotment notices and an undelivered commitment from the property owners to tidy their property, council has obtained a quote for an external contractor to tidy the property.

Darwin council community and regulatory services general manager Polly Banks said if people didn’t keep their properties tidy and clean council had the power to intervene.

NT News tablet art

CLICK HERE for full details on our tablet offer above

“City of Darwin has policies that outline obligations and responsibilities of the community and City of Darwin in relation to the development and maintenance of nature strips and allotments, which the vast majority of our community adhere to,” she said.

“Where requirements are not met Council can send in contractors and invoice property owners for work undertaken.”

The $2412 bill has not yet been agreed on by the owners but council will begin works with the contractor, with the bill to be invoiced to the property owner.

Neighbouring resident Marie Lappas feared the property’s overgrowth had created a fire hazard and said it was destroying her fence.

“We had a beautiful fence down there but with the overgrowth it’s torn the fence down,” she said.

“It’s a home in the middle of three other homes and it’s grown to the point that if I put a match to that, it would ignite in a second.”

LIMITED time offer: GREAT Samsung Galaxy tablet deal for new NT News digital subscribers

Ms Lappas said she got in touch with council after being unable to get in contact with the owners of the property which has been vacant for about two years.

“It’s an ongoing issue and there’s no one we can talk with because vacant for two years,” she said.

Darwin council said the property was well known to their officers and while it was untidy it had been cleared as a safety risk.

According to the property’s history it was last sold in 2001 in a private treaty by an unknown real estate agent.