‘War zone’: Fed up Belmont neighbours tell of Edith Court commission house nightmare

Residents of a once-peaceful Belmont court say authorities are powerless to stop a stream of alleged violence, drug deals and anti-social behaviour at a set of troubled public housing units.

A unit in troubled Edith Court, Belmont. Picture: Alan Barber

Residents in a once-peaceful Belmont court say authorities are powerless to stop a stream of alleged violence, drug deals and anti-social behaviour at a set of troubled public housing units.

At least one homeowner on Edith Court says she will sell up after more than 18 months of alleged arson attacks, knife crime and late-night disputes, calling the response to a torrent of sustained complaints to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) as “pathetic”.

Geelong officers and paramedics have attended the address on at least three occasions in the past fortnight, including a fire earlier this month and an alleged assault involving a drug-affected woman on Tuesday.

A vehicle was allegedly fire bombed with a molotov cocktail in the same court a year earlier, when reports of knife-wielding “eshays” and a shady resident with a criminal past first came to light.

One resident, who did not want to be named, said she was planning to put her property on the market.

“We used to have long-term older tenants in those units and now we have a bunch of drug addicts that not even the police can do anything about,” she said.

“Cops come and go and the war zone continues, it’s a crack house.

Houses in Edith Court, Belmont. Picture: Alan Barber

“And if you speak to people at the Geelong housing office they don’t even call you back.”

Paramedics rushed one woman to Geelong hospital after the blaze on August 9.

Firefighters in breathing apparatus entered the unit at about 1.45am and managed to contain the damage to a couple of rooms.

An FRV spokeswoman said the fire was suspicious and police were investigating.

The angry resident said “the system has enough strain on it”.

“How do junkies get whole units on once-quiet courts in nice neighbourhoods?” she said.

“There are two units fire damaged and basically destroyed.

“It’s just constant, we’ve have had enough.”

A Victoria Police spokeswoman confirmed the fire on August 9 and that officers attended the property on Tuesday “for a welfare check”, and a woman inside the property was taken to hospital.

“Local police are aware of ongoing issues at this property and have liaised with the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH),” she said.

“All issues relating to tenancy of the property can be referred to the DFFH.”

DFFH did not respond to direct questions about the Edith Court units or tenants.

A spokeswoman said in a previous statement, issued in August 2023, that the DFFH were working closely with police “to address the concerns” raised and ensure compliance under the Residential Tenancy Act.

A number of homeowners also wrote to Geelong MP Christine Couzens last year asking for help.

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Originally published as ‘War zone’: Fed up Belmont neighbours tell of Edith Court commission house nightmare