Residents living next to The Block‘s 2023 development on Charming Street fear that the 2023 show is changing their neighbourhood for the worst.
On March 27, Daily Mail visited The Block‘s latest building site in Melbourne’s Hampton East, consisting of five classic brick homes purchased by Channel Nine for $14.3 million.
Whilst some residents aren’t bothered by the commotion that has started outside their homes, the street’s elderly population are becoming increasingly concerned by the project.
Leonor Gonzales who lives across the road from the building site fears the project will strip the street of its classic charm.
“[The Block] hasn’t affected me very much … they control the traffic very well so it’s no problem,” she told Daily Mail.
“But I don’t think it’s a good thing for the street.”
Like many others, Ms Gonzales moved to Charming Street because of its quieter nature.
“It’s losing its charm. It’s not charming anymore,” she shared.
“All the houses are how they are when they started and they have beautiful gardens. It’s going to be a different looking street. We’re going to have more traffic. Where are all of the cars going to be?”
“Are we going to lose this corner here? They’ll want to give me good money if they want to move me out,” she asserted.
Residents of Charming Street are concerned about upcoming renovations
Residents are also worried about the people who will be attracted to the neighbourhood once the renovated homes are sold.
“A lot of people around here are like myself. Older people … it’s going to change,” Ms Gonzalez said.
Many of Ms Gonzales’ elderly neighbours echoed her concern.
On the other hand, Glenn, who lived down the street, said he was less concerned about the development.
“It’s good to see some of these older houses get a bit of a make-up,” he commented.
Like Ms Gonzales, Glenn was happy with the way Channel Nine communicated with him in the lead-up to filming.
Channel Nine sent an ‘entitled’ letter to the residents of Charming Street
On March 20, Channel Nine sent a letter to the residents of Charming Street which was later called “entitled” by Melbournians who saw it on Reddit.
In the letter, the network informed the neighbourhood that they were going to film a commercial for The Block.
The letter sparked controversy as it told residents that they weren’t allowed to park their cars in their driveways or on the street. It also gave them very little notice.
“We will bring various 7 x 1950’s cars to park on the street and period piece props and costumes,” the letter read.
“As we are dressing the street, we do request on Friday evening that you please not park on the street or in your driveways.
“We would like to keep modern cars out of the shots. If you need assistance to move your vehicles we can assist you in the morning.”
The letter then warned residents living in homes 24 and 25 that they weren’t to park their cars outside their houses on March 25.
Although Redditors have called the letter “entitled”, the residents of Charming Street don’t share this same opinion.
‘”Communication has been good. They usually stick something in the letter box. We got something the other day about the fact they were doing a whole lot of filming, but they let us know,” Glenn told Daily Mail.
Adrian, who also lived on the street, has agreed that Channel Nine was doing its best to communicate with residents.
“It’s just like any building site. They attempt to look after us as much as possible,” he shared.
“But it’s very early in the piece so it’s too hard to really say.”‘
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