By Casey Neill
A MOUNT Evelyn mother has successfully called on the council to clear a roadside fire hazard but says more action is needed.
Susan Camm last week contacted the Mail about branches and leaves piled high beside the Mount Evelyn netball courts, on the corner of Gardner Parade and Birmingham Road.
Ms Camm had asked the Shire of Yarra Ranges to remove the tinder-dry mound more than three weeks earlier. Her daughter Azalea, 10, plays netball at the site each Friday.
“It just looks like the council’s not interested in cleaning it up,” she said.
But by about noon yesterday (Monday), after queries from the Mail, council workers were on site to clear the mess.
Ms Camm said the piles had posed a severe fire risk. “I’m not ringing up to complain about something that doesn’t look pretty,” she said.
She said Birmingham Road was one of the main routes out of Mount Evelyn and a fire at the site could create a bottleneck on other roads.
“People could get stuck,” she said.
Ms Camm said debris was also piled up elsewhere. “They (the shire) don’t seem to have a plan of what they’re going to do with it,” she said.
“We’ve got to see some value for paying our rates.”
Billanook Ward councillor Tim Heenan agreed the netball court debris was a fire hazard. “Bloody oath it is,” he said. “It’s extremely close to houses. They should have cleaned it up weeks ago.”
Cr Heenan said residents piled fallen branches, trees and leaves in front of their homes after last month’s storms for the shire to collect.
“The shire just hasn’t removed it,” he said.
He said the storms had brought down a tree and branches at the netball courts and the debris pile had grown after more was dumped on it. He agreed other areas in the town were “in a shocking state”.
Asset maintenance services manager Grant Jack said Birmingham Road was included in the shire’s fire slashing program, which kicked off this week and would involve about 1500 kilometres of roadsides.
“The program is timed to commence following the peak spring growing period,” Mr Jack said.
“It would be a waste of ratepayers’ money and resources to commence the program during the spring growing period only to have to repeat it a month or two later.
“Vegetation at this point in time is still very green and moist and doesn’t pose a threat.”
