Murray Brennan thought he had found his very own slice of paradise by the edge of Lake Illawarra, but last weekend’s storms have his home at risk of slipping into Lake Illawarra.
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Mr Brennan and his partner Warren Anderson live in a waterfront house in the Jettys by the Lake village at Windang.
The storms and king tides wrecked the jetty out front of their place, destroyed the makeshift wall holding the foreshore together, and heavily eroded the edge of their land, 1m from the house.
“It’s all because of the bad management of the retaining wall. It needs a proper rock wall put around.”
The couple pays $180 a week to rent the land their house sits on, and were among those evacuated – with their dog and cat – by boat on Saturday night.
The retention wall, made from railway sleepers, had simply floated away, one sleeper crashing into Mr Brennan as he waded in water on Saturday night.
“It’s all because of the bad management of the retaining wall,” he said. “It needs a proper rock wall put around.”
But the company which manages the park says the jettys and the retention wall are not their problem. Lake Illawarra Park Pty Ltd, part of the Hampshire Property Group, leases the foreshore, which is Crown land, from the NSW government.
The Mercury contacted village manager John Hutcheson, but he said his company was not responsible for repairing the retention wall, and the jetties were illegal and not actually part of the park that bears their name.
Later, another manager Karen Hutcheson sent a statement saying they would discuss the retention wall with the landowner.
“The retention wall, the immediate lake foreshore and small jetties adjoining our village are not the property of Jettys by the Lake,” the statement said.
“We have not witnessed nor received any reports of home foundations ... having been threatened or damaged by damage to the retention wall.”
The statement said when it is safe to do so, staff would fill in holes to make them safe.
“Likewise, we will undertake any maintenance and repairs required to ensure continued support to our leased land and residents’ homes.”
But thus was unlikely to include a proper retaining wall.
The Government admits being the owner, but offered no information about fixing the wall, or if the damage had even been inspected yet.
“The foreshore strip is managed by the Department of Primary Industries – Lands,” a spokesman said.
“The extent of damage to the foreshore areas of Lake Illawarra is currently being assessed.”
Mr Anderson said his demand was simple.
“We want to feel as safe as we felt before,” he said.
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