Complaint spurs city to speed up mowing in Ocean Grove

THE City of Greater Geelong will mow a park in Ocean Grove more frequently after a resident expressed concerns about the area’s safety and amenity.

Kingston Ocean Grove estate residents Mark and Katrina Hutson said they felt “very worried, frustrated and upset” about the park surrounding a water catchment and bordered by Oakdean Boulevard, Milborne Drive and Holburne Rise.

The couple moved back to Ocean Grove in 2014 and said this park was one of the reasons they purchased their new home.

“We noticed a deterioration in the upkeep of our park a couple of years ago and decided to make enquiries about the decline of its upkeep.

“We found out that the developers had been maintaining the park, and that their commitment to maintain this park was only for five years after its development and then it is taken over by the council.

“This should not be a problem, but it is very unfortunate and obvious that it is.”

They said they had made several calls to the council over the past two years to find out why the park was not being maintained.

“One of the major factors of our concern was that the grass was being left to grow very long; this being a very dangerous problem with snakes.

“There are children playing on the playground and running through the grass, people using the grass area for recreation purposes, walking their dogs or running along the gravel paths and through the grass.

“Danger is the most important point to be made, but also the very negative impact that this neglect has on the many people that use and see the park every day. It can also reflect badly on people’s attitudes with littering and graffiti.”

The Hutsons said they had no complaints about the developers of Kingston Ocean Grove.

“They do an amazing job of maintaining their land. There is a green strip across the road from our park that is being maintained immaculately; it is such a contrast to the upkeep of our park.

“If the council are going to approve future housing developments that require water catchments/green areas, it needs to be mandatory that the quality of the maintenance is able to be continued.”

In response to questions from this newspaper, director of city services Guy Wilson-Browne said on Wednesday last week that the open space area within Kingston Ocean Grove was scheduled for maintenance that week.

“We thank local residents for their feedback and recent conversations regarding this area.

“In response to these discussions we have increased the maintenance schedule for this area from six weeks to monthly.

“We will continue working to ensure this is a safe and accessible space for everyone to enjoy.”