East Cannington residents want City of Canning to develop vacant land being used by thieves as getaway route

EAST CANNINGTON residents want the City of Canning to develop vacant land in the suburb being used by thieves as a getaway route.

Residents of Gianatti Ramble and Tulip Way have experienced a wave of robberies in the past few months and are calling on the City to help fix the problem by installing lights and developing land at the end of Gianatti Ramble.

Resident Termit Kaur said six homes on Gianatti Ramble and Tulip Way had been robbed in the past two months and cars parked on the street broken into.

Dr Kaur said the vacant land was dark at night and residents were aware thieves jumped fences from Tulip Way to gain access to the unlit area where they could hide.

“The area is supposed to be a small park for East Cannington. This is what we were told,” she said.

“Lighting in the area would definitely help.

“We are concerned for our safety,” she said.

Founder of the local neighbourhood watch group, Residents for Harmony, Neville Lobo, said a group of residents did evening patrols of the suburb and reported suspicious behaviour to police.

Mr Lobo said he captured on his security camera system a house robbery on Tulip Way.

“The owners came back from holidays the next day and they found the house ransacked,” Mr Lobo said.

He said earlier this year, a new resident to Gianatti Ramble had been threatened by a man trying to break into his home.

“The guy was trying to open up the patio door when the owner woke up and was told ‘oh you’re at home, I will come back later’.”

Mr Lobo said City officers had told him the vacant land in Gianatti Ramble had been earmarked to be a recreation park.

A City spokesman said there were no plans to develop a park on the site.

“The City does not own an area large enough to warrant its upgrade to a developed park in the near future,” he said.

“Any future plans for the park will be developed in consultation with the local community,” he said.