THERE is yet more frustration over an abandoned property on Adelaide Tambo (Kensington) Drive which is now causing a big stink. The prime piece of land has been abandoned for more than six years and had become a home to vagrants, who defecate and sleep on the land.
However, the owner of the property had put up a fence to keep vagrants out, and in December last year began digging trenches, possibly for the foundations of a new house. A portable toilet was also installed on the site.
Fast forward three months, however, and the wire fence installed has been bent backwards, and now vagrants are using the toilet, which has not been emptied in months. One resident, who shares a boundary wall with the property, said the smell from the toilet had become unbearable.
“There is now a pungent stench permeating through the property, and on hot days the smell wafts through our property. The property has also become overgrown again, which has signalled the return of huge rats. I had to put down one of my dogs two weeks ago, that may have ingested rat poison. This is not acceptable, and the owner needs to maintain his property,” she said.
Another area of concern for residents are two cardboard collectors who are using the verge of the vacant property to pile and string together large mounds of cardboard.
Local councillor, Shaun Ryley, said he hoped the situation would not get back to the way it was previously.
“Since construction work has stopped, similar problems have resurfaced. Several residents have complained about the overgrown bushes, and now about random people and vagrants using the portable toilet, which is causing a massive problem. These are legitimate concerns, and I would like to work with the owner of the house to find an amicable solution,” he said.
“With regards to the cardboard collectors, that is a matter for the municipality to deal with as they are using the verge which is municipal property.”
