Wrecking crew and 70 pigeons crush slumlord’s derelict home

The house a decade ago when it was already abandoned.

He fought council over unpaid rates for decades but in the end it was a wrecking crew and as many as 70 pigeons that crushed the derelict home of an infamous Aussie slumlord.

Decades of decay reduced to rubble in six hours when a wrecking crew tore through stubborn property millionaire Edward ‘Ted’ Amos’ crumbling Ascot house, the stench of which had apparently become unbearable after as many as 70 pigeons trashed it.

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A digger at work on site Monday. Picture: Sophie Foster

Edward Amos stands to make a fortune off his derelict sites.

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Mr Amos had been facing ongoing Brisbane City Council action over as many as eight properties spread across some of the city’s most expensive inner city suburbs – the worst of which was the Lancaster Road home which was not just derelict and unliveable, but stinking so bad that neighbours couldn’t bear to open windows any more.

The wrecking crew took just six hours to tear the crumbling two bedroom house in Ascot’s Lancaster Road to the ground, with their biggest challenge being how to prevent it from collapsing into the house next door.

“It was pretty bad. There were pigeons all through it and the stench of it was incredible.”

“The neighbours couldn’t even open the window because of the stench.”

Part of the house which was prone to collapsing dangerously had to be taken down by hand to reduce the danger.

It is understood council approved the demolition, though no publicly accessible record could be found on the BCC development site.

The site by noon. Picture: Sophie Foster

The site will attract a strong price after being levelled given a house built in the backyard of the neighbour on the right of image is now valued at $2.03m (bottom right). Picture: Sophie Foster

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Other neighbours were relieved to finally see something happen on the site which has been “a pigeon palace” for literally decades that it’s been abandoned.

“It’s good, we’ve been complaining for a long time. There were about 60 or 70 pigeons living in the house. They’ll have to find somewhere else to roost now.”

The median house price in Ascot is $2.525m, located within 6km of the Brisbane CBD. Prices in the suburb have jumped 83 per cent in the past five years. A four-bedroom house built in the backyard of his immediate neighbour sold for $1.13m in 2020 and is currently valued as high as $2.03m.

The old support posts piled ready for rubbish removal. Picture: Sophie Foster

Neighbours and passers-by have expressed relief that the crumbling mess has been demolished. Picture: Sophie Foster

Mr Amos had put his derelict property up for sale in May describing it as a “renovator’s dream” in his listing – with the block directly across the road from the historic Eagle Farm Racecourse, just 50m away from its entrance as well as Racecourse Road where shops like Maggi T and a multitude of restaurants, supermarkets and professional offices are located.

He had listed it as having “council approval already granted to demolish or remove the existing dwelling”.

Records show the property registered in Mr Amos’ name, and given it is zoned for low density medium development – which translates to one to two townhouses or mixed use developments of up to three storeys – he stands to make a fortune off the levelled site.

Mr Amos – who did not comment when returning a call made to him earlier – has been in trouble with authorities previously including claims he made tenants responsible for repairs to rented property with several homes left to crumble.

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