It’s a leafy street lined with luxury houses and unit complexes a stone’s throw from the foreshore.
But within Norman St in Southport on the Gold Coast sits what locals have described as a health and community safety hazard.
“We’ve got criminal behaviour there,” Gold Coast councillor Brooke Patterson told 7NEWS.
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“The squatters have been very aggressive with our local law officers, with residents, and with the tradies trying to get to clean up the place.”
Covered by a high fence, the house at the centre of the neighbourhood controversy appears fairly normal from afar.
But peering through a gap created by the broken gate — or from the above balconies of the units next door — is a sight to make most people squeamish: a layer of rubbish covering the majority of area of the front yard, made up of trollies, clothes, a mattress, bags and other general waste.
“I’m going to hate to think of the smell in summer,” one neighbour said.
The neighbour also alleges used syringes have been thrown from the property onto her first-floor balcony.
She said the “unbearable” situation had been “going on (for) over a year”.
Patterson said it was up to police to address the problem.
“It’s really disappointing and frustrating. Council stands with residents (wanting) to deal with this issue,” she said.
“We have submitted a compliance notice to the owners. But when they got their builders onsite to clean this up, the squatters stole their tools.
“So this is a criminal matter. This is a police matter.
“I’ve written to the police minister requesting urgent attention because this cannot be done without police intervention.”
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