Local residents are fed up with a vacant Newcastle West property, said to be riddled with hundreds of needles and drug paraphernalia.
Located on the corner of Denison and Parry streets, the building has been sitting idle since late 2024, with development plans still up in the air.
Local resident Amy* said the interim period has led to significant disarray for the property.
“The vacancy isn’t so much of the issue, it’s the needles,” she told the Newcastle Weekly.
“We all know that we live in a development area, and it would be naïve to expect everything to look perfect all of the time.
“I had absolutely no concerns previously, even when it was filled with graffiti I understood these things happen when you’re waiting for something to be developed.
“It’s really just the 20 to 30 needles clearly visible through the glass, and it wasn’t even just that there were packets of pills and everything.”
The 28 Denison Street building is situated within 250 metres of St Francis Xavier College, with many residents concerned for the welfare of local students.
“Many of the large glass windows were actually broken, so there was a big risk of people cutting themselves,” Amy said.
“Not just with teens going in there, it could even be someone walking past not paying attention and getting injured.”
Amy told the Newcastle Weekly she witnessed a homeless man take refuge in the property over the past few weeks.
She said he’d already began closing entrances and blinds, decreasing the visibility of the copious amount of drug paraphernalia.
“Whoever has moved in there has barricaded it back up and moved all of the needles, and I’m just glad to have a new neighbour,” she explained.
“I feel like there should be a development or a management team that are a better neighbour than the homeless man whose moved in there currently.
“It took him three days to make it safe and far more aesthetically pleasing.
“It did not take a lot of effort or a huge organisation to sort out the issues that I was worried about.”
The owners recently gained council approval to develop the site into a large accommodation building.
Currently priced at $11,801,194, the Statement of Environmental Effects outlines the development as a twelve-storey high-rise, including 51 co-living rooms and three accessible residences.
Despite gaining initial council approval, the build is still awaiting further clarification before construction can begin, leaving residents like Amy increasingly concerned.
“To me it’s really embarrassing, particularly when it’s so close to Newcastle Interchange,” she said.
“It says, ‘Well this is the best we can do, we’ve got syringes about 45cm from one of the busiest streets in Newcastle and that’s okay’.”
*For privacy reasons, Amy has asked to remain anonymous.
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