New reality for Aussies in tight development parcels

Australia’s new reality: More homes, smaller yards.

As smaller backyards become the norm across a country focused on easing the housing crisis by packing in as many homes as possible to every new development project, Australians have never been closer to their neighbours. Literally.

But while the tighter spaces might be great for increasing Australia’s volume of new houses, the drawback is a reduced capacity to use backyard spaces for outdoor activities that previously posed no problems.

Sydney man Miguel Andrade found this out the hard way after making a potentially-deadly find in his backyard while doing the washing.

Miguel Andrade made the discovery next to his clothesline. Picture: Facebook

The 78-year-old had ventured into his Epping yard to take the clothes off the line when he found a metal arrow embedded in a stone path.

“I went out to the clothes line, and I thought, ‘What is that’? It was a metal thing embedded in the ground. An arrow,” he told Yahoo News.

“All thoughts went through my mind. I’m horrified … It could have hurt or killed someone … What if anyone from my family were here collecting clothes from the line?

“That arrow could have travelled 200 metres, depending on the bow; that’s how fast and far they go.”

Mr Andrade reported the 70cm arrow to NSW Police but there was no evidence to suggest a place of origin.

The incident is a wake-up call to anyone thinking they can carry out activities in their yards the way they used to.

The arrow struck while no-one was around. Picture: Facebook

While Mr Andrade’s experience is extreme, it is a lesson on how careful Aussies need to be as property sizes continue to shrink across the country.

In NSW the minimum distance between houses can vary between 0.9 metres to eight metres depending on council approvals for rear setbacks. “Under the Housing Code, landscaping requirements are based on lot size.

“Landscaped area on a site requires a minimum width and length of 1.5m,” NSW Government’s Housing Code states on its website.

With some councils now approving building to boundaries of less than one metre, backyard finds from nearby properties are more prevalent than ever.

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