In the streets of Port Melbourne, 78-year-old Janette Fly found herself in a predicament that has left her frustrated.

A neighbour's construction project has resulted in an erected scaffolding blocking her driveway and trapping her car in her garage.

This seemingly minor construction raised questions about the rights and responsibilities of homeowners during construction projects.

Fly has been dealing with this issue since October last year. The scaffolding, which was supposed to be a temporary inconvenience, has now become a long-term problem with no resolution.

Despite her best efforts, Fly's car remains trapped in her garage, unable to manoeuvre past the scaffolding. Even a 10-point turn fails to free her Peugeot from its confinement.

Janette Fly’s car has been trapped due to an erected scaffolding blocking her driveway. Credit: @LexiDaish / Twitter

'I can't manoeuvre the car until I've gone out full length,' Fly explained.

'So if I try and move now, I hit the scaffolding. I end up against the scaffolding and cannot move sideways.’

‘I go to choir practice at Upwey on Monday nights...and it's taking about two and a quarter to two and a half hours each way—it has frustrated me considerably.’

Adding to her frustration is the apparent lack of progress on the construction site.

Fly claimed that she hadn't seen any construction activity since late December.

‘It was supposed to come down on the 30th of January this year...but there's been no one on site since the 22nd of December.’

The saga began on 12 October, when Fly received a letter from building company IceCorp, informing her of their plans to erect scaffolding from 16 October to 12 November.

In response, Fly moved her car onto the street. However, when the scaffolding had not been erected by 18 October, she moved her car back into the garage.

To her dismay, the scaffolding was erected on 24 October, trapping her car.

Despite her attempts to seek help from the council and the Victorian Ombudsman, Fly's situation remains unchanged.

'Just remove the scaffolding, and I can get my car out. It is so simple!' she said.

A spokesperson for the City of Port Melbourne stated that they had ‘been seeking to assist’ Fly ‘since November last year’.

‘It's important to note that the builder is complying with their planning permit,’ the spokesperson said.

‘The Ombudsman investigated and found that there is no evidence that our Council has acted unlawfully...Our council has no authority to compel a builder to work faster.’

You can watch the A Current Affairs’ video below:

Credit: @LexiDaish / Twitter​

In a previous story, a Coles delivery driver broke the rules by parking illegally in front of a doctor’s surgery in a residential suburb.

The parking space was supposed to be used by a ‘poor person’ to attend his appointment. You can read more about this story here.

Key Takeaways

• 78-year-old Janette Fly was considerably frustrated due to a neighbour's scaffolding blocking her driveway, leaving her car trapped in her garage.
• Fly is now required to travel extensively on public transport to attend her weekly choir practice and other activities.
• Despite efforts to resolve the issue with the council and the Victorian Ombudsman, the scaffolding remains in place with no end date for the construction.
• The City of Port Melbourne claims they have been trying to assist Fly and state that the builder is complying with their planning permit; the council has no authority to compel the builder to work faster.

Have you ever experienced a similar situation? How did you handle it? Share your stories and advice in the comments below.

 

[Luckyus]

If the scaffolding has been built on your property, then you should by rights be able to have it dismantled unless you agreed to having it erected on your property. If itn had built on my property it would be gone, but then again among other things I am a scaffolder.

 

[Pommyoz]

She is responsible. She gave builders 2 days to put up the scaffolding! Ridiculously too soon. Having over 30 days notice, I think she lives in a tinted world. No builder works that fast.

 

[MariaG]

I saw this on A Current Affair.
Whether it is her responsibility or not, the builders had no care when they put up the scaffolding. If this was outside their garage, you could pretty much put money on them making sure there is room to move.
All well and good to say so much notice was given and she should have known, but the situation has gone on for too long, and if she is like me, looking at a plan means bu#%#er all.
Yeah, Council says the builders are working according to the plan and they have no power...blah, blah blah. All I heard in my mind's eye was ... not my problem.
You really don't get how STUPID it is. I say again, if it was their home, they would never let it happen.

 

[AlanQ]

Now this site has become a rehash of a tabloid TV show. It's a laneway not her driveway. The laneway is owned by the local council and they issued the permit that's why they aren't doing anything other than making sure the permit requirements are met and they have been. Woman was given notice of scaff being erected. Silly woman should have left car on the street and made sure she got a permit from the council if there were any parking limits etc.

 

[MariaG]

It's a laneway not her driveway. The laneway is owned by the local council and they issued the permit. Silly woman should have left car on the street and made sure she got a permit from the council if there were any parking limits etc.

Maybe so, however, her garage opens onto the laneway. This is not uncommon.
Most garages that open onto a laneway don't have driveways. That is not the point. Just because it's a laneway, that should not mean it's open slather to do what they want. If, as you say, Council owns the laneway, they should have been alert to the layout before it happened. Head in the sand I say. Other people who have garages on this laneway were not affected. I wonder whether they would be upset if it happened to all of them.
If I recall correctly, the builder sent her a letter saying the scaffolding would be up for a certain amount of time. She did park further away for a month, however did not feel safe. Nobody would answer her calls, council said not their problem, so, she put her car back. I guess that was her mistake. Surely the builder should have had the common courtesy to advise that there was a delay, or, is that expecting too much.

 

[Kitterly]

I think I would have bought a chainsaw by now and fixed the problem myself. Then glued the corners back in with no more nails.

 

[Penny4]

Those laneways look narrow and poky even without the scaffolding. Not sure why she's backing straight out like that when there appears to be another lane to back into.

 

[Ezzy]

I was of the belief that no person is permitted to block access to your garage as has been done here. Surely the Council should have acted on this point?

l WONDER IF HER DEMISE COULD BE OVERCOME BY REVERSING INTO & OUT OF THE GARAGE?
In the footage she could steer to the right & veer left down what looks like a lane or on hard right lock may be able to go right out of the garage. I don't believe SHE MUST DRIVE FORWARD INTO THE GARAGE!

 

[Bob’s Buddy]

I think I would have bought a chainsaw by now and fixed the problem myself. Then glued the corners back in with no more nails.

 

[AlanQ]

Maybe so, however, her garage opens onto the laneway. This is not uncommon.
Most garages that open onto a laneway don't have driveways. That is not the point. Just because it's a laneway, that should not mean it's open slather to do what they want. If, as you say, Council owns the laneway, they should have been alert to the layout before it happened. Head in the sand I say. Other people who have garages on this laneway were not affected. I wonder whether they would be upset if it happened to all of them.
If I recall correctly, the builder sent her a letter saying the scaffolding would be up for a certain amount of time. She did park further away for a month, however did not feel safe. Nobody would answer her calls, council said not their problem, so, she put her car back. I guess that was her mistake. Surely the builder should have had the common courtesy to advise that there was a delay, or, is that expecting too much.

No she gave them 2 days to put the scaff up. Most laneway access was for the 'night soil' man to empty dunny cans at night. The owners of the properties have over the decades taken ownership of the laneway and put car parking spaces (that were and still are not on plans).

 

[MariaG]

No she gave them 2 days to put the scaff up. Most laneway access was for the 'night soil' man to empty dunny cans at night. The owners of the properties have over the decades taken ownership of the laneway and put car parking spaces (that were and still are not on plans).

If I lived in a place where obviously there is no dunny man any more, I would stop living in the past, get rid of the horse and cart and create access to my own home too. I am not privy to all the residents' status, so can only speak for myself. I live on a road and enjoy access to a garage. It's just as well, because car parks are rare out the front. That's what the modern age has done. Dunny man out, car access in.