TAREE businessman Fred Martin said fears that the facade of an empty Pulteney Street shop would collapse last Friday further underlines why it should be demolished.
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Mr Martin spoke to the Times last Thursday – the day before the drama – to express his frustrations with Greater Taree City Council and now MidCoast Council over the future of the shop, which, he described as an ‘eyesore’ and a ‘safety hazard.’
He admits to having a vested interest. Mr Martin owns the premises next to the building now leased to the Mayo Group. He knows they’ll leave when extension to the Mayo Hospital are complete.
“But they're good tenants and I don’t want to lose them before I have to,’’ he said.
“Good tenants are hard to find these days.”
Mr Martin has had on-going correspondence with the former Greater Taree City Council dating back to February 15 2005 concerning the premises and his concerns. He described the building as a ‘safety hazard’, a fact he says was rammed home last Friday when Taree Fire Brigade blocked the footpath at the front of the building after responding to a call from a member of the community, concerned that the facade was ‘wobbling’ in windy weather.
Station commander Peter Willard told the Times that ‘potentially’ the facade could collapse as the weather conditions deteriorated. It was later secured following consultation with the owner.
Mr Martin said the building is the home for rats, mice and cockroaches while pigeons also nest there.
“I’ve spent $6000 spraying for bird lice,’’ he said.
“And it’s also a fire hazard.’’
Mr Martin also has correspondence from Ross Hagedorn from the Accala group to the former GTCC.
At the time the group was renting premises to a business in Pulteney Street. Mr Hagedorn called on council to put a demolition order on 35 Pulteney Street.
Mr Martin claimed both GTCC and now MidCoast Council have failed to take any action.
“They'll pass the buck until someone is killed,’’ he said.
Mr Martin further claimed the situation has deteriorated since the council merger.
“There’s no-one at council who cares about Taree now,’’ he said.
“I just finished a trip around the North Coast. This is the biggest eyesore I’ve seen in a CBD area – it’s a disgrace and it’s getting worse.’’
Council’s response
THE Times put Mr Martin’s concerns about 35 Pulteney Street to MidCoast Council. This is the response.
“MidCoast Council was made aware last week through an anonymous complaint of a safety hazard relating to 35 Pulteney Street and accordingly issued a notice to the owner to rectify loose boarding to the façade of the building.
“On Friday we attended the site, in conjunction with Taree Fire Brigade, and the immediate hazard was resolved. Council prioritises customer complaints based on the level of risk. In this situation the immediate risk and concern has been dealt with.
We will monitor the site to make sure that the building’s facade remains in a satisfactory condition.’’
Frustration
FRUSTRATIONS with the former Greater Taree City Council and a stagnating market are the reasons there has been no further development at 35 Pulteney Street Taree.
This is according to a spokeswoman for the partnership which own the property. They asked not to be named.
They’ve owned the property for more than a decade and had hoped to market it as a three storey residential/retail development.
The spokeswoman added that the property was in a state of decline when it was purchased and they have done some repair work there, including putting up the boarding in Pulteney Street. On-going problems with the drainage under the property is damaging the footpath in Pulteney Street.
The spokeswoman said she had ‘a lot of stress’ in dealing with Greater Taree City Council over another development some years ago and this made her business partners reluctant to carry out further negotiations with GTCC regarding the Pulteney Street site.
However, Taree has proven to be a be hard sell for outside investors and this has been the main stumbling block for any development.
The spokeswoman said an improving market could spark more interest in the property, while she hopes the newly formed MidCoast Council could be easier to deal with.
“I just finished a trip around the North Coast. This is the biggest eyesore I’ve seen in a CBD area – it’s a disgrace and it’s getting worse.’’
- Taree businessman Fred Martin
Comments from the web
The Manning River Times posted the story Brigade block access amid fears building would collapse on its Facebook page on Friday, which prompted a number of responses, some of which are re-published here:
Julie Wilkinson: It’s an eyesore and ruins the town.
Amanda Cause: Shame this abandoned building has been left in such a state for years in the CBD.
Esha Proctor: I don’t know why they don’t just do something with it, it’s so run down now that more than likely the only way to fix it is to knock it down.
Wendy Mcaway: Needs to be pulled down, it looks shocking.
Todd Wiseman: I hope someone from MidCoast Council takes time to inspect this structure as unsafe buildings should not be allowed in any part of town.