When Lynne and her husband moved from Melbourne’s inner north to Mont Albert 30 years ago, the rows of enormous hedges that epitomise the suburb’s greenery had been a drawcard.
But opponents – from people with ambulatory or vision impairments who have to avoid certain streets, to joggers complaining of an untidy route – say they are fed up with being interrupted by a hedge protruding over the footpath, at worst leaving barely half-a-metre of concrete. Lynne is pleased with the new policy. She has twice had the footpath widened in front of her home – the first time it was initiated and paid for by the council roughly 20 years ago, but the second time, she negotiated to be allowed to do so, paying just over $6000 to extend the footpath last year.She said the latest widening came after the council ordered her to cut back her hedge to the boundary or remove it entirely, following two community complaints.
“We’re happy for people to choose to have hedges … but they do need to manage it. It’s really about community safety,” she said.She said the council received about 2000 complaints a year about obstructive vegetation. Footpaths must be at least 1.5 metres wide and branches cannot overhang at a height of less than 2.5 metres.