Vacant, dangerous eyesore
A PARTIALLY built Leopold pold house has become a “haven ven for vagrants” to take drugs ugs and scrawl graffiti, neighhbours say.
The Bisinella Court t house had been left unfinished for more than a decade, neighbour Kellie Stone said.
It is the shell of a home at the end of a quiet, and otherherwise well respected, court.
Ms Stone said her sevenv venyear-old daughter lived in fearf fear of the house, which is covered e ered in red graffiti and has shattered e ered windows, because of the peoeople who congregated inside. e.
“I’m constantly reassurring my daughter the doors s are locked and we’re safe,” ” she said.
“She often wakes in the e morning and says, ‘has any- thing else happened?’
“It conjures up images for my daughter that we’re not t so safe.”
Ms Stone said she had seen young people through the broken windows “smoking bongs” ngs” and squatters sometimes mes inhabited the home.
“The problem is its attraction to kids who constantly break the windows to gain access to the property and also vandalise it,” she said.
“It’s a real eyesore in the street.”
Ms Stone said she was prompted to contact the Addy after noticing new graffiti last week.
She said she feared the house would impact negatively on house values in the area.
City of Greater Geelong planning, design and development director Gareth Smith said council officers had inspected the property and contacted the owner to board up the broken windows.
“We will continue to monitor the site,” Mr Smith said.
A neighbour, who declined to be named, said although squatters did not take over the property often, she had once returned from a holiday to find a group of people had moved into the half-built house.
She said another neighbour had contacted the council every couple of months to complain about the state of the house but had been “shut down”.
When she bought her home she thought the neighbouring property would soon be completed, but the build had not progressed.
“I’m very upset about it because if I had of known I wouldn’t have brought the house,” she said.
“How are we going to be able to sell our houses?”
The Geelong Advertiser was unable to contact the property owner.