Further battles have erupted in Perth's verge 'turf wars', with one council set to rip up verge gardens and trees in favour of concrete, and another arriving unannounced to plough a corridor through a resident's verge garden.
The debate over the best use for Perth verges has run hot over the past year, with one woman's elaborate Wembley verge garden ripped up by her council, only to be replanted by a local TV personality; another resident succeeding in being allowed to trial "turf paving" in Bayswater; and the head of the Water Corporation making a public speech encouraging people to think beyond traditional turf for verges.
More News Videos
- Video duration
- 00:24
Garden Gurus help restore verge
- Video duration
- 01:46
Woman fights to reclaim stolen images from porn sites
- Video duration
- 00:24
South Freo pizza shop smash
- Video duration
- 00:59
City of Perth gives away free Nike Air Max sneakers
- Video duration
- 01:10
That cheese is made from what?
- Video duration
- 01:03
Pedestrian hit and killed in Perth's south
- Video duration
- 01:20
West Coast CEO on Sam Mitchell
- Video duration
- 00:09
WA Police catch crow dumping 'meth stash'
Garden Gurus help restore verge
Garden Guru' Trevor Cochrane leads a community effort to replant a Wembley verge garden destroyed by the local council.
Now, an Atwell resident is organising a street petition after a City of Cockburn staffer decided to rip up and concrete the verge for people to put their garbage bins out on.
Michelle Paul said there had been an ongoing issue with one neighbour, who repeatedly tipped rubbish left in his bin after collection on to the street.
She said other residents' attempts to speak with the neighbour were met with abuse, resulting in a report to the council about the litter.
Cockburn decided the solution was to replace the greenery with concrete, and a staffer informed her the move was not negotiable.
Ms Paul said that while the cottage-style houses did not have driveways, there were plenty of other areas for people to place their bins and no one struggled with the matter.
She said the City had also concreted other parts of the verge nearby and the result was an ugly space sometimes used for car parking.
"It looks tacky," she said.
"I don't understand why they are making an issue that is not there, all because of one offender.
"This neighbour is not an approachable person and it's not a good resolution of someone littering.
"Our verges are proudly kept and neat and trimmed for the most part. We maintain these verges at our own cost ... this is a good place to come home to.
"The City's newsletters, communications, even rates notices, all promote how much money goes into keeping the parks and wetlands beautiful and the streets leafy.
"I'm aware it's council land at crunch time, but it's going against what they promote."
The City's engineering and works director Charles Sullivan said staff would consult with neighbours to resolve the issue.
Councillors also contacted Ms Paul in an effort to help – but it's not the only verge issue they will consider this week.
At Thursday night's scheduled meeting, Council will consider an informal trial of the 'Food is Free Project'.
The movement, launched in 2012 in America, aims to line streets with free food gardens to encourage neighbourhood friendship and giving.
The report to council staff notes that the suggestion, made by a resident, could have merit, but clashes with existing policies.
One policy encourages residents to plant waterwise native gardens on verges, and another guides development of community gardens, but the combination of food gardens and verges is a new one.
The report noted a trial would be prudent before major-scale changes to these policies, but an official trial would require criteria around objectives, locations, funding, timeframes, Key Performance Indicators, a "reporting framework" and part-time staffer to "liaise with residents, assist with submissions, community engagement, ongoing analysis and administration duties" – none of which was budgeted for this financial year.
But, staff noted, the council was free to consider allowing a resident, or group of residents, to make applications under the existing verge policy to hold a one-off 12-month test case.
Meanwhile in the neighbouring council of Fremantle, a woman came home on Tuesday evening to find her council had ploughed a two-metre wide strip through her verge garden, which had been filled with daisies, lavender bushes and native grasses.
"Sure it had some winter weeds," she said.
"But the neighbours' nasturtiums have been left.
"There is a place down the road where they have just hacked at their verge as well. Another person had their mushrooms mowed up; another person had mulch dumped on new native plants.
"It shows a lack of understanding about what we are trying to do.
"I know it's public land, but we are all making an effort to create a verge that has appeal."
Fremantle was contacted for comment.
2 comments
New User? Sign up