RESIDENTS of Hagelthorn Street say life is finally starting to return to normal after months of frustration with squatters and disturbances down the road.
Forty-six Hagelthorn Street, once a magnet for late-night noise, rubbish and vandalism, has been stripped back to its bare bones. The roof has been essentially pulled off and most of the walls removed, leaving little more than the frame and a fence around the block. This partial dismantling seems to have been done as an attempt to deter squatters, which had previously plagued the property.
One Hagelthorn resident, who asked not to be named, said the drastic action has made a clear difference.
“They’ve pulled the roof off, and it’s really pretty much only the frame left now,” she said.
“I haven’t seen any squatters since the owner did this.”
Back in April, the Sentinel-Times reported growing frustration from locals who felt abandoned as squatters moved in and chaos spread through the street. Neighbours complained of loud bangs at three in the morning, rubbish dumped across the nature strip and even a CFA call-out or two. One family’s car was damaged, and the bill came to $900. Residents at the time described feeling unsafe in their own homes.
Now, six months later, the street tells a different story.
“I’m just so happy they’re gone,” the resident said this week.
“I feel safer, but it’s hard to describe, just more relieved than anything. At least there’s no rubbish lying on the nature strip now. And if you want to go for a walk down that way, you’re not stepping all over stuff.”
She said the clean-up has lifted the mood of the neighbourhood.
“There is a shared relief, everybody is happy that they are gone,” she said. “There’s not much left of the property now. There’s just the frame and a big fence, so if the squatters do go there, they will be trespassing.”
Despite the relief, locals say the property itself has little chance of recovery.
“I’m on board with a full demolition,” the resident said.
“It was just a mess beforehand. All the walls inside the property had been punched in. It probably just has to go.”
Her comments echo those made earlier this year when locals questioned whether the property could ever be repaired.
The latest clean-up did bring one final odd note.
“While they were cleaning up the property, they found a bike. One of the young guys had left it there and later came back to get it. The owner told him he couldn’t have it, so the bike got cut up for scraps,” the resident recalled with a wry chuckle.
While the rubble and timber still stand somewhat as an eyesore, neighbours say the silence has been well worth it. For a street that had grown used to sirens, smashed windows and sleepless nights, peace seems to have returned.
The future of 46 Hagelthorn Street is uncertain, but residents seem to agree on one thing: anything is better than what came before.
“I’m just glad they’re gone,” the resident concluded.
