By Callum Ludwig
A trespassing concern is affecting a number of businesses in Healesville and Yarra Valley Clinic is concerned it could end in serious injury.
Teenagers are entering the back of the clinic and moving nearby bins, scaling a glass wall and onto an old and decrepit unused balcony to gain access to the rooftop and those of nearby buildings.
Dr Peter Trigg said the risk of serious injury is severe if something went wrong.
“If you fell from that height onto concrete, you would at least break limbs and if you fell on your head, you’d kill yourself,” he said.
“They’ve got access to roofs in the whole area, HICCI, Reece, The Memo.”
Reece alerted the clinic to a number of teenage girls trying to scale the clinic on Monday 30 January, who when confronted by Dr Trigg said they were doing ‘nothing’ before leaving when asked.
The balcony itself they climb onto is rotting and in the process of being slated for destruction. Multiple wooden panels have almost fallen through, leaving a three to four-metre drop onto concrete or metal railings below.
Dr Trigg said he would like parents to know what their kids are doing.
“The young people I saw were quite young, anywhere from 12 to 14, and we just want it out there that this is happening,” he said.
“The overall thing is that their safety is the issue. Why do something like that when you could potentially hurt yourself?”
The issue has been ongoing for a couple of years, with HICCI having to put in a wire frame to stop kids from climbing onto bins up their walls, something which they have dealt with for a couple of years.
Dr Trigg said Yarra Valley Clinic will do what’s necessary to negate the issue.
“We’re going to demolish this balcony so that that will no longer be an access point for them, the builder is coming to speak to us,” he said.
“But if we demolish the balcony, it’s still going to be accessed with the glass wall or we are worried they’ll find a way onto the roof somehow. Primarily, we are just concerned for the children.”
Yarra Valley Clini has found their bins move at least four times since Christmas indicating teenagers have accessed the roof.
