A few years ago an investor bought a block in Brunswick to put two townhouses on it. The application was rejected at council after the neigbours opposed it (rightly so, the building devalued their properties significantly).
The investor bipassed the council via some sort of loophole and got the plans approved (can't remember how). They said they would only build one townhouse. That townhouse is on half the property with a big blank wall along one side. Obviously they wanted to get one up, then sneak the second one in later.
The neigbours continued to protest but building of the first townhouse went ahead, dispite the councils and neigbours continued opposition.
After about 2 years of nasty fighting and protests, Thwates personally overturned the approval for the second townhouse. The investors options are to leave a half empty block with a very funny looking townhouse on it, or pull down the existing structure and build something more reasonable - which they should have done in the first place.
The moral of the story - The residents were very persistant with their oppisition of the unsuitable structure. Displite the approval through the loophole, the investor still had the rug pulled out from under them at a later date. Life would have been easier and cheaper if the investor had done the right thing in the first place.
Disclaimer:
The neigbour was my wifes hairdresser.
