Amazing images show the lawn of defiant homeowners surrounded by new build after they rejected the developers’ £25m bid
A DEFIANT family is braving the development rush in their neighborhood by refusing to sell their beloved two-acre home.
The Zammit family is sitting on a £25million gold mine in Sydney, but unlike their neighbors who let loose long ago, they’ve told developers to “keep dreaming”.
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Her grand five-bedroom property with a sweeping 200-metre driveway is situated in The Ponds area of western Sydney, where hundreds of new homes have been built in recent years.
The desirable area is only a 40 minute drive from the city center and offers beautiful views of the Blue Mountains.
The home looks bizarrely out of place wedged between identical new builds, where its 1.99 acre garden has room for over 50 of the matching new homes.
However, when their neighbors got up and left – and decided to sell to the developers – the Zammits held out one last time.
Despite offers worth millions, they refused to sell and prevented the developers from getting hold of the last plot.
“The fact that most people sold out years ago was captured by these guys. All credit goes to them,” local agent Taylor Bredin told 7News.
“Depending on how far you push the development plan, you could push something like this anywhere from 40 to 50 lots, and if a 300-square-foot block was subdivided, it would get a million dollars.”
In short, the country could be worth over £25m, especially after ten years of their private rebellion.
The home itself continues to make headlines for its David-versus-Goliath-style battle against corporate development.
Just like the story of Disney-Pizar’s “Up” — the Zammits quietly went on with their lives while construction work rattled and rumbled around them — until the neighborhood they knew was completely gone.
Diane Zammit spoke wistfully of a neighborhood that used to be “farmland with little houses and cottages made of red brick.”
“Each house was unique and there was so much space – but no more. It’s just not the same,” she told Daily Mail Australia.
However, they will continue to turn down all offers for their home, “tell them they’re dreaming”.
Even the newbies from the neighborhood appreciate the Zammit’s commitment to staying put.
A local told the Mail: “I’m very glad they have refused to sell – it means we have a cul-de-sac which is much safer for our children – and their large lawn next to us makes us feel we are closed.” be I have so much space.
“Our neighbors don’t notice because the other houses are so close together. We are very grateful! I hope they stay.”
Elsewhere, a real-life woman is suspected of inspiring Up’s story after forcing developers to build a mall around her Seattle home.
In a beautiful tale of defiance, Edith Macefield – who moved in with her mother in 1952 – refused to sell five decades later, even as she was offered £770,000 and built around her.
Meanwhile, another brave lady withstands the might of the Masters golf tournament as she refuses to sell the house she has lived in for more than 60 years.
“We really don’t want to go.” She said.
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