For the third time since living on Heron Street, I find myself next door to a construction site. I have endured loaded cranes passing overhead and been forced to breathe clouds of dust. Workers without permission have used my outside water taps. The beautiful cedar hedge which I cared for over many years has been brutally chopped down. The promised replacement is not to be.
By far the most stressful experience is the latest construction of a monster house on the lot next to mine. A charming character house has been demolished and the beautiful lot cleared of most of its trees and shrubs. Again workers have come on to my property and propped up the fence between the two lots without first asking.
Recently my day started with a nasty fall. I was rudely awakened by a very loud vibrating noise which caused my house to shake, mimicking an earthquake. I was very frightened. I now have a crack in the concrete slab in my basement.
Many times a very loud hammering noise with an occasional extra loud bang fills every corner of my house. Obviously, this is extremely unhealthy, especially to someone of my advanced age.
On completion of this really huge house, almost everything that I loved about the home I worked so hard for will have been taken away in a very dictatorial uncaring manner. The mayor didn’t answer my email and another staff member just said that it was all legal. In my opinion, it is also immoral and soul destroying. It is no wonder that an ever-increasing number of us are falling off the edge of a dog-eat-dog society. It turns out that it isn’t only trees that need hugging.
Christina Whitbread
Oak Bay