Tall order: Jim Steele, left, and his son John check out the fence put up on Saturday morning to deter vandals from further damaging the former St Joseph’s Regional High School site in Port Macquarie.
A fence was erected the day after concerned Warlters Street residents voiced their dismay at the safety of the former Joseph’s Regional High School.
The site, which was sold to K mart by the Catholic Church, recently has been severely vandalised.
Windows have been shattered, walls kicked in and fixtures destroyed.
Residents across from the eyesore were fed up with the constant noise of vandals smashing and demolishing the insides of the buildings.
At 6am on Saturday, the day after the Port News published the report, workers were busy erecting a 2m-high temporary fence around the site.
Commercial consultant David Munro, from D R Munro Nominees Pty Ltd, said the timing was coincidental.
“That fence was organised to be put up months ago,” he said.
“It’s just that things like this always take time.”
Last week, a K mart spokesman said plans were in place to make the area safe and secure but did not say the fence would be in place so quickly.
The representative also avoided questions about power still being connected to the now derelict site.
On Monday, the Port News met with the same worried residents in the area, who said the fence was a good start but more needed to be done.
Jim Steele, who lives across the road, and his son John inspected the fence.
“It’s a start but if someone really wants to get in there, it’s not going to stop them,” he said.
“They really need to come in and just get rid of it all.”
The Port News tried to contact K mart for comment but did not receive a reply before going to print.