Perth Voice Interactive

VINCENT and Cambridge councils may share a boundary, but they’re worlds apart when it comes to verges.

Vincent mayor John Carey was quick to highlight his council’s popular “adopt a verge” program when news hit about Cambridge council literally bulldozing a Wembley resident’s lush verge garden.

The reasons given for clearing the 250sqm verge of about 3000 plants were neighbour complaints and safety concerns.

Mr Carey says his council, “loves that residents green their verges and wants more of it”. Vincent even helps residents dig plots, and provides mulch and vouchers to buy native tree plants.

North Perth woman Laila Hinsman and two Norfolk Street neighbours are three of Vincent’s 168 residents who’ve personalised their verges since the program started more than two years ago.

The program is so popular 31 others have expressed interest.

“We’ve made a meandering pathway through our verges with a water feature and … swing,” Ms Hinsman says.

“Kids regularly stop and play.”

Vincent chief executive Len Kosova says the council has only received one complaint relating to the program and it was about vegetation being too high and blocking views.

“This was resolved by the adjacent property owner trimming the vegetation to a lower height.”

Bayswater’s green plan

Bayswater councillor Chris Cornish wants to take his council’s greening policies a few steps further.

First, he says, “let’s restrict the amount of hard surface, or anti-environment stuff like AstroTurf, to 30 per cent on verges”.

The council’s committee meeting this week discussed several development applications to rip out verge trees to make way for cement driveways.

Some driveways would take up more about 60 per cent of a verge.

He also wants to create a “significant tree register” so trees on private land are publicly recognised and better protected, and put a price on tree amenity.

The latter — if he’s pushing for a tree policy similar to that of Stirling council — would involve giving trees monetary values based on size and age, for example.

It would not be uncommon for developers to pay the council $12,000 to chop down a visually pleasing tree. Currently, if residents want to axe a verge tree, they only need to pay for the tree’s removal, plus $500 to the council to plant another elsewhere. Cr Cornish expects to table ideas in council meetings in a few months.

by EMMIE DOWLING