By LAURA WAKELY
A PROTECTED grasslands reserve in St Albans has become a dumping ground for rubbish.
Residents at Pimelea Terrace have called for a grasslands reserve on their street to be cleaned up and for the site to be made into a park and recreation area.
The petition presented to Brimbank City Council also calls for the installation of hidden cameras and signage warning people that fines will be issued to people caught littering, as well as a maintenance program to keep the grass short.
Council records show just two requests per year for rubbish removal since 2006, but petitioners claim residents have been cleaning up rubbish themselves.
But the land is owned by the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) and managed by Victoria University.
Victoria University’s vice-president of infrastructure Professor Peter Creamer could not explain what maintenance, if any, had been carried out at the site.
Prof Creamer said the university was “reviewing its involvement” and Brimbank Council has received no works or management plan for the site.
The grasslands is a native reserve and council’s Infrastructure and Environment general manager Paul Younis said grasslands was one of the most depleted ecosystems in Australia, protected under federal law.
Star contacted the DSE but received no response before going to print.
