Why Marina isn’t letting her 115-year-old Inner West home go without a fight
Take one step inside Marina Stougaris’ 115-year-old home and there’s no doubt it means more to her than bricks and mortar.
Her late mother’s bedroom is still intact, family photos stretching generations fill each room, and the lemon tree in the backyard is the same one her father planted more than half a century ago.
Marina Stougaris’ home of 56 years could be bulldozed to make way for a park. A Current Affair
“It’s part of me – all I know,” said Stougaris, who’s lived at the home for 56 years with husband Greg.
But Inner West Council wants to buy it and bulldoze it for a park.
“I’m devastated,” she said.
“I can’t leave this place.
“The walls have been soaked with memories, good and bad.
“They would literally have to physically remove me.”
A council vote is the only thing standing in the way of Stougaris losing her home. A Current Affair
Marina’s home in Norton Street is one of seven earmarked for potential acquisition in the Inner West Council’s Fair Future Plan.
The council has taken ownership of the NSW government’s mandatory housing targets with an independent report suggesting more space is needed around high-rise buildings earmarked for the area near Marina’s home.
Her 95-year-old next-door neighbour, Ida, would also lose her home under the draft plan, which could ultimately only proceed after a council vote.
Marina Stougaris claimed she would have to be physically removed from her home, A Current Affair
“No way, this is my house,” she said from her front porch.
The community has until October 28 to submit formal feedback through the council’s portal before a final vote dictates the future of the neighbourhood.
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