Residents living around TV’s latest development, The Block, are counting the days until workers pack up and leave after months of misery in the idyllic location.
Channel Nine’s renovation series has worn out its welcome after causing what some locals describe as “traffic chaos” in and around the construction site on Phillip Island, the iconic spot 90 minutes from Melbourne where the famous fairy penguins They disembark in groups.
On Friday, Daily Mail Australia observed huge trucks transporting palm trees to the construction site, which is located in a former Cowes resort along a narrow street ironically called Justice Road.
A truck carrying a large palm tree towards The Block struggles to go around a roundabout on Friday.
The Block host Scott Cam to film in Phillip Island on Friday
Phillip Island residents attacked traffic around The Block construction site.
“There is no justice on this road,” said one weary resident.
Chaos has reigned here for months. We can’t wait until they’re gone.
Construction workers arrived at the site in February, causing what to some residents seems like an endless procession of traffic along a road also used by buses full of tourists en route to the nightly penguin parade.
One resident told Daily Mail Australia the traffic problems were mainly due to large trucks carrying construction materials from The Block being forced to queue along the street.
They can wait in line for up to three hours, locals said, because there was only one entrance to get in and out of the property where the houses were being built.
Trucks often sit idle on the road for hours, their engines belching smoke into the air, residents say.
‘It’s not ideal, but what can you do?’ said a neighbor who wished to remain anonymous.
“We can’t wait to see their backs.”
Daily Mail Australia spoke to a group of residents who live around the controversial construction site and who have suffered for the past three months.
Phillip Island residents living around The Block site say trucks entering and leaving the site are causing ‘chaos’
Trucks are seen lining Justice Road towards The Block on Friday
Phillip Island is known worldwide for its little penguin parades.
Some claimed that construction workers initially destroyed their lawn by driving their trucks on the sidewalk, but said the problem subsided during their three-month ordeal.
But most said local construction traffic continued to bother them, particularly because of the way trucks enter and leave the site.
“I’ve almost had two head-on collisions because the traffic controllers are not doing their job properly,” said another resident.
The elderly local was seen on Friday looking at the entrance to The Block as trucks entered and left the site.
“I don’t want to cause problems, but I don’t want to have an accident either,” he said.
The resident reflected the attitude of many people Daily Mail Australia spoke to on Friday.
They believed The Block had managed to escape being fined for a few things before TV bosses stepped in and imposed a crackdown.
“They used to park in the natural areas and stuff like that, but production has cracked down on them and gotten pretty strict,” said another local.
“The city council says that you can’t plant trees in the natural area because you can’t see them when you go outside, but look at all those trucks, you can’t see anything.”
With only a week left of the planned construction, some residents have begun to speculate about who could buy the properties and be their new neighbors.
Some locals claim that traffic management at the site has been poor.
The Block hosts Shelley Craft on Friday at Phillip Island construction site
A McCafé across the street from last year’s construction site upset neighbors when it stopped serving them free coffee.
Adrián Portelli (right) has the habit of buying a property from The Block
‘Lambo Guy’ Adrian Portelli has a history of purchasing Block properties at incredibly high prices before offering them as star prizes in his lotteries.
“I can handle the construction noise,” said a resident located directly across from The Block.
But I don’t know if I could handle him destroying the neighborhood. I think I’ll pack up and sell.
Neighborhood complaints have been part and parcel of The Block’s production.
Just last year, residents living around The Block in leafy Hampton lashed out when a makeshift McCafé on their street suddenly stopped serving them free coffee.
Other residents complained that some stars of the show “illegally” blocked entry to their private driveways.
In March last year, Daily Mail Australia reported that residents were angry with The Block creator and executive producer Julian Cress after parking his $500,000 Porsche on the street.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Channel Nine for comment.
Trucks parked along Justice Road on Friday outside The Block
Some residents have erected fences outside their homes to try to keep construction workers’ trucks off their properties.
