The Block row has deepened amid claims the show’s top producer is parking his $500,000 Porsche on the street after Channel Nine sent an ‘entitled’ letter asking locals to move their cars.
One concerned resident claims the show’s creator and executive producer Julian Cress is parking his 911 Turbo S – with cringey personalised number plates – ‘wherever he pleases’.
It comes as angry locals claim they are effectively being pushed out of their neighbourhood by tradesmen and producers who have converged on the five classic brick homes in Charming St, in Melbourne’s Hampton East.
Some residents were upset when asked by Channel Nine to move their cars on Saturday so a 1950s-themed commercial for the hit reality-TV program could be filmed.
‘The Channel Nine producers handling of it has been nothing short of a joke,’ one resident said.
‘He literally told residents to move our cars but was okay for him to park wherever he liked.’
The Block creator and executive producer Julian Cress under fire over parking his $500,000 Porsche 911 Turbo S on the street
Tradesmen and producers have converged on the five classic brick homes in Charming St
Scott Cam (left), host of The Block, and Shelley Craft filmed an advertisement on Charming Street last weekend. Residents received a letter asking them to move their cars so it could be filmed
Daily Mail Australia visited the latest building site for the reality TV juggernaut on Monday.
Most neighbours generally seemed satisfied with the network’s dealings with them, but others are not so happy, and have expressed concern the street is at risk of losing its charm altogether.
One resident, who asked not to be named, said they found the tradies and staff working on the site intimidating.
‘Just last Wednesday as I came home from work I was approached by three men demanding me to move my car from out the front of my house (my legal right),’ the resident stated.
‘They literally give you death stares for parking on the street and can be quite intimidating.’
Julian Cress has been accused of parking his half-a-million dollar sports car on the street
A resident claims complaints to Channel Nine are being ignored
Leonor Gonzalez (pictured) fears the project will change the very dynamic of the street.
Meanwhile, the resident said the show’s top producer is allowed to park his expensive sports car in the building zone while telling residents to move our cars – ‘which he has no legal right’.
It is understood Channel Nine executives are working out of at least two rented homes directly across the street from ‘The Block’ site.
Around the corner on King Street, another resident told Daily Mail Australia tradies are parking their trucks wherever they please.
The resident provided multiple images of vehicles parked up on median strips directly in front of a fire hydrant.
‘One side of our road is all day parking, the other side is 2 hour parking, which their team continues to ignore,’ the King Street resident told Daily Mail Australia.
Tradies working on The Block parked directly opposite a fire hydrant just around the corner from the building site
Channel Nine was slammed after sending an ‘entitled’ letter to residents asking them to move their cars so they can shoot a commercial for ‘The Block’
‘We have reported it to the council and had multiple conversations with the production team who have advised they haven’t been able to secure parking for their team.’
The resident accused Nine staff and its tradies of repeatedly breaking the law.
‘The main issue I am having with them is their total disregard for safety of our street and continuously allowing their team to park in front our street’s fire hydrant which by Vicroads law is illegal,’ the resident stated.
‘I have asked multiple times for this to stop and have reported it to our council twice but it persists.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted both Channel Nine and Bayside Council for comment.
Residents claim Channel Nine staffers are parking illegally around The Block building site
A tradie dumps rubbish in a skip outside The Block building site.
On Charming Street, residents claimed they have been dealing with issues over the production since January.
‘We were promised from the (Production Manager) and Julian Cress that the tradies were to be “parked off site away from the area” yet they are filling the streets around Charming Street,’ a resident said.
‘You only need to look at the four “Block Vans” parked on Oswald Thomas Ave and all the tradies park on King Street … you don’t understand how rude and entitled they all are.’y.
With pre-filming preparation underway on blocks ranging from 575sqm to 703sqm, the site is expected to remain a flurry of activity for at least the next three months.
The new season of ‘The Block’ is filming at houses 14, 16, 18, 20 and 22 on Charming Street.
They were snapped up by MicJoy Pty Ltd, a company owned by Nine, in separate off-market deals for a whopping $14.3 million.
The most expensive of the bunch, 20 Charming St, cost a whopping $3.5m when it was bought last July.
Only one of the five properties purchased along the row of homes at numbers 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22 has two bedrooms. The other four boast three to four bedrooms.
Residents along King Street, near The Block site, are fed up with workers parking dangerously along their street
In addition to traffic complaints, some residents told Daily Mail Australia they fear the development will forever change the dynamic of the street.
Leonor Gonzalez moved to the street from Kingston – about 10kms further south east – to enjoy the quiet life on Charming Street.
When approached by Daily Mail Australia on Monday, she had little idea what ‘The Block’ was and didn’t really care.
‘It hasn’t affected me very much … they control the traffic very well so it’s no problem,’ Ms Gonzalez said. ‘But I don’t think it’s a good thing for the street.’
Like many of her neighbours, Ms Gonzalez was attracted to the street because of its quiet and unassuming people.
‘It’s losing its charm. It’s not charming anymore,’ Ms Gonzalez said.
‘All the houses are how they are when they started and they have beautiful gardens … it’s going to be different looking street. We’re going to have more traffic. Where are all of the cars going to be?’
Ms Gonzalez said she and her neighbours fear the street is about to lose its ‘1950s charm’ and spark more extreme renovations.
Residents are also worried about who might move into the neighbourhood once the homes are sold.
‘A lot of people around here are like myself. Older people … it’s going to change,’ Ms Gonzalez said.
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