A LAVERTON woman fed up with bureaucratic buck-passing is desperate to clear rats, rubbish and overgrown grass from public land near her home.
Dianne Dougal, a resident of Watts St for 35 years, has been calling for a clean up to the area that separates her property from the sound wall parallel with the Princes Freeway.
Ms Dougal said the area had been neglected since the sound wall was extended six years ago.
“It’s an absolute eyesore,” she said.
“I just want someone to come and slash it – I’m having lots of trouble with mice and drains that come from the freeway, and rubbish like bottles and mud.”
Ms Dougal said it was unfair because she paid her rates and believed it was a case of the West being neglected again.
Over five years, she has called on both VicRoads and Hobsons Bay City Council to fix the problem.
She called on VicRoads 18 months after they erected the sound wall, because they own the area between the wall and the road opposite her house that faces the freeway.
“A man came out and said they would do it in six months …it was supposed to be landscaped but they ran out of money,” she said.
Ms Dougal raised other matters with the council relating to fallen branches, rubbish removal and other maintenance requirements.
A council spokesman said all of the matters were attended to when raised.
After Star’s inquiries, the council has promised that an officer would contact Ms Dougal to see if it could assist with improving the council’s road reserve.
“The council will also request that VicRoads clean up the area along the back of the sound wall, as was done in Tyquin St where VicRoads provided the funds and the council cleaned the area behind the sound wall,” a spokesman said.
In response to the media inquiry, a spokeswoman for VicRoads said it would clean-up the neglected area in the next week.
