Is the Council responsible for maintaining the lawn in front of our property outside the fence? I assume the area belongs to the council. The lawn in front of my place are not mowed and in bad condition. If I need to maintain them, I would prefer to have my own plants there. Have seen some nearby house plant a hedge on those outside lawn. Do we need to seek council approval for this? Have you got any experience with that before?
No. You are obliged to maintain a "nature strip". Landowners typically do this when they mow their own grass. The reason it is in a poor state is due to your understanding. You are also liable for the cost of a crossover (driveway and splay) between your land and the roadway. You cant usually leave this as dirt or gravel in urban areas. In practice most people make this the same material as their driveway provided its an approved type and colour etc. Slippery surfaces like painted stencil concrete may be a concern and a suitable coating or surface texture used. You cannot plant a hedge on a nature strip if it interferes with free pedestrian movement. Yes. Councils dont like neigbours planting things (other than lawn or a tree etc) on their property. They will have guidance on maintaining nature strips and what is and isnt allowed. eg some refuse to allow fake turf. some allow trees (eg not a fig or some species) , no thorny bushes, no trip hazards, no "gardens" etc. It also must not hide or interfere with water and other services such as fire hydrants as the fire brigade may find your home burns while they look for it. Council can impose penalties for breach. If you park fully or partially on a nature strip you can be fined by Police or council rangers. You can also be sued by a neigbour if you impact the nature strip and they are injured. Example Hils Shire Council Street Tree Planting and : https://www.thehills.nsw.gov.au/fil...es/synthetic_turf_on_council_nature_strip.pdf and https://www.thehills.nsw.gov.au/fil...s/fact_sheet_-_nature_strip_encroachments.pdf Some council areas allow hedges but ban front fences. A Hedge may be a green fence alternative but it can encroach so maintain it so it doesnt. The water meters etc often are on the front boundary line. It is NOT the footpath edge.
As per above. Think of it this way, if it is council land then you would be trespassing everytime you crossed over "their land" to access yours...... It was once explained to me as an unwritten rule, that in return for crossing their land you maintain it Grass is best, no trip/slip hazards (that you could be sued over) or obstacles for passengers getting out of parked cars
I had a client who owned two joining lots they hadnt built on. They asked if the $3K a year they pay council is deductible. I asked what the $3K was for. Council invoices them for mowing as it was unfenced (corner lot) so public access was available. They had no idea it was a penalty as they didnt have it maintained and fenced. They then saved some $$$ by doing it themselves. They complained they were not told it was a option. Dismissed. Council said its an expectation. A: It wasnt deductible. The land was being held for a development and was in the nature of a penalty. ATO decision.
unlikely as it is dedicated as public road which is by definition "a road opened or dedicated for the free right of passage of the public on foot, in a vehicle, or otherwise, (together with the right to drive stock or other animals along its length) and declared to be a public road for the purposes of the Roads Act (1993)"
Or in some cases it is a 'grudge strip' & not dedicated as roadway but as 'community land' which then prevents you using the frontage as a driveway (provided you have another street access).
No, you can’t plant a hedge or block the footpath. some councils provide free (suitable) trees. Just mow it when you mow your yard.
yes. the ol' grudge strip i have found most "spite or grudge" strips have all but been absorb. sometimes acquired by road alignment plans. and the subject reserve dedicated as public road. as one i recently found at Enfield. lot 1 (c-1877) was under title held by the "Minister of Lands" but absorb by road alignment plan c-1922.
I found that there were several when I undertook a project for reclassification & rezoning in Blacktown a few years back. Councillors kept pulling sites out of the list so nothing much happened
although not really applicable to the OP, as i highly doubt a residential subdivision would have been approved that left his lot with no access to the road frontage. so i reckon he should mow his lawn like everyone else does. the spite strip is generally used to inhibit development of the adjoining lot, but some developers also try the residue lot senario, however councils are also wise to this as per your link :- "In 2012 Camden Council recognised, when assessing a Development Application, that a ‘grudge strip’ was being created by the proposed subdivision and this would prevent the orderly development of land adjoining. To address this Council imposed a condition requiring the developer to dedicate additional land to Council (with no construction required) to facilitate future road and services to the adjoining development" there was also an amendment to the conveyancing act in 2001 with regards to possessory title that addressed the spite strip; "The amendment extends to permit recognition of title to occupied “revenge” or “spite” strips as well. These are narrow (usually one foot wide) strips of land that were included in a subdivision, typically to prevent access to a public road to which the developer had not contributed. Schedule 2 [3] and [4] make consequential amendments." quote did your client occupy the strip of land ??
