The Block goes into damage control with leaked letter to residents: 'Disruption'

The Block 2023 filming is well underway, with whispers that the teams will be ready for open homes in late June. It’s no secret that the producers have ruffled some feathers in the local area, with parking disputes making headlines earlier in March.

The show, which is currently filming on Charming Street in Melbourne’s Hampton East, previously asked local residents to keep their cars off the street during their TV commercial filming. However, in an act of goodwill and damage control, executive producer Julian Cress sent a letter along with a bottle of wine to local residents on Monday. The leaked document warns the community that there may be significant “disruption” over the next month, with early to mid-June slated as the “busiest weeks”.

A photo of the letter was shared on the Facebook page 2023 Charming St ‘The Block’ with the caption: “A letter and a gift! …..and it will get busier!”

In the letter, Julian thanks the residents for their “understanding and patience” over the past few months, and says that the show is officially “well past the halfway point”.

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“These last few weeks of production are focussed on finishing the internal spaces of the homes and then moving to the outdoor areas and that entails some additional workforce with each of our contestants engaging landscaping teams etc, so I do apologise in advance that there may be some disruption as we will need to have many people on site. The busiest weeks will be from June 5—17,” he wrote.

The producer urged any residents with concerns or questions to get in touch, and promised that the cast and crew are doing their best to “minimise any disturbance” in the area.

A Charming Street resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, tells Yahoo Lifestyle that they have been pleased to have an open line of communication with the producers.

“For 99% of the time The Block team has been great to work with,” they say. “On any other building project, such as the many other builds occurring in the area, we would not have had any communication.

“Of course it doesn’t mean they’ve been perfect but they do talk to the residents and try to work out any challenges.”

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Many fans on social media echoed this sentiment, saying that there appears to be more communication from The Block producers than from regular construction projects.

“I wish all renovators would take this approach. I feel most issues can be resolved with a bit of forward notice like this,” one person pointed out.

“I live in King Street around the corner and at times I’ve been asked to wait by the traffic controllers and the streets have a few more cars than usual, but I understand that they have a show to produce. It may be a short period of inconvenience but I personally don’t feel put out or disrupted by The Block,” another local wrote.

“No need for any negative comments. I think it was a lovely gesture and everyone working on The Block has been polite and accommodating,” a third chimed in.

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