JACK’S HOME SWEET HOME

War veteran spent most of his 97 years living in his Mt Stuart pride and joy that was illegally demolished in minutes

JACK Bone was a Changi survivor who dearly loved his home sweet home on Mt Stuart Rd.

Friends said the popular local, who died shortly after moving out of the house he had lived in for most of his 97 years, would have been shattered to see the devastation wreaked on Sunday.

Hobart Lord Mayor Sue Hickey has promised to throw the book at those responsible for the illegal demolition of the heritagezoned 1890s weatherboard home and two heritage-protected trees.

The issue escalated yesterday when council officers served the owner with an emergency order requiring full asbestos removal within three days, amid complaints from alarmed neighbours.

Alderman Hickey described it as an act of blatant destruction.

HOBART Lord Mayor Sue Hickey has promised to throw the book at those responsible for illegally demolishing a heritage-scheduled property at Mt Stuart, as council officers served the owner with an emergency order requiring full asbestos removal within three days.

A day after an 1890s weatherboard and two heritage protected trees were razed to the ground, Alderman Hickey said yesterday she was shocked at what she described an act of blatant destruction.

Ald Hickey said the council would pursue all breaches of the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993 and the Building Act 2016.

“All of the aldermen are of the opinion that our general manager should throw the full force of everything we can against this particular developer and I believe that one of the options is that he cannot develop this land for 10 years,” she said.

“It will be up to the courts to decide what happens, but we need to deter other people from doing such stupid and foolish acts that endanger their neighbours. This was a very serious incident involving live wires, asbestos, damage and the loss of two beautiful trees.”

Ald Hickey said that under the emergency order, owners of the property had 24 hours to engage a licensed asbestos removalist, erect appropriate signs restricting access to the property, secure the damaged building and all loose materials and cap all sewer and stormwater drains.

Asbestos removal must be completed within three days under the supervision by an accredited building surveyor.

HCC general manager Nick Heath said the council’s immediate priority was ensuring the site was made safe, particularly in relation to asbestos found in the building.

“The owner demolished the building despite the presence of asbestos and it appears that no measures were taken to manage and control the asbestos nor were any measures taken to minimise and mitigate the risks associated with the disturbance of asbestos,” he said

“I want to reassure residents that we are doing everything we can to make sure there’s no injuries to people caused by asbestos, and yesterday we also had to ensure disconnection of power to the site.

“If people are demolishing buildings or removing significant trees from sites, they must get council approval. In this particular instance we are satisfied that the owner did not seek any approval from the council whatsoever.”

Mr Heath described penalties under the legislation as “severe”, but said sanctions were a matter for the courts to determine.

The new owner of the property could not be contacted.