In February 2024, Council endorsed the initiation of the ‘Burnt and Derelict Housing Enforcement Program 2024 – 2025’.
Lead by Council’s Special Projects Manager, James Maxwell, the Program will be resourced fulltime for the first time in Council’s history of managing this community challenge.
Since February, Council officers have ramped up enforcement efforts to direct the owners of Moree’s burnt and derelict buildings to either repair them where possible, or otherwise demolish them, in the interest of public safety and local amenity.
These enforcement works continue to build upon evidence collected over recent years. However, the legal processes available to Council to enforce these directions can be complex and lengthy in nature. Given the scale of the issue, the Program is expected to continue over the next two years.
While Council seeks to ensure that property owners are held accountable for the cost of the necessary works, it is also recognised that the cost of demolition and asbestos removal works can exceed the value of the affected lands, making it uneconomical to cleanup and redevelop residential properties after a fire.
Therefore, Council has also endorsed the enforcement program to offer financial support to affected property owners in the form of reduced waste fees during the necessary demolition or repair works.
“It is hoped that this waste fee support will incentivise faster cleanup’s and improve the likelihood of property redevelopment, in order to replace local housing infrastructure lost to fires”, Mr Maxwell explained.
“This combination of enforcement and incentivisation efforts has already proven to be successful, with four properties demolished or repaired since February and eight more scheduled over the coming month.”
“While there may be some confusion throughout the community regarding the order in which derelict houses are being cleaned-up, it is important to note that Council’s enforcement works are prioritised by the determined risk presented by each property.”
“And the presence of asbestos in these buildings is a significant factor. However, the timing of demolitions and repairs is largely dependent on how responsive property owners are, and their contractor’s availability”, said Mr Maxwell.
In the event that any property owners remain unresponsive or fail to comply with the Enforcement Program, Council is prepared undertake all required demolition works and pursue the owners for the cost of these works, dependent on the particulars of each case.
Where necessary, these works would not be expected to be undertaken until the new Financial Year.
With the positive uptake of the Enforcement Program, Asbestos Removal and Demolition Works are currently underway throughout Moree and it will be more common to see these occurring across the coming months.
Council staff will be endeavour to ensure that these works are being undertaken by appropriately licensed and experienced contractors but if any concerns are identified by the community, they can be reported to the Council for review.
In total, 35 burnt and derelict buildings have been remediated as a result of Council’s enforcement activities since detailed investigations commenced in 2020.
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