A Sunbury resident is concerned about leaf litter and rubbish in drains and obstructing culverts on Racecourse Road, which he said is a bushfire risk.
Resident Patrick Esse said he believes the dry leaves and bark in the Racecourse Road drains between Menzies Drive and Elizabeth Drive could pose a fire risk due to their proximity to nearby trees and houses, adding that they are also blocking the water culverts.
“Let’s put it this way – if someone dropped a match in there, it’s so dry that it could burst into flames,” Mr Esse said.
“There are leaves, branches, bottles, cups, all in the culverts,” he said.
Mr Esse said he sent an email to Hume council about the rubbish and was told that the matter was being investigated – then informed by the council on October 29 that the matter had been investigated and was addressed.
“What they could probably consider as rubbish was the foam mattress that was there, they removed that … but have done nothing at all in regards to all the branches, bottles, and the blocked drains,” he said.
A spokesperson said the council had requested additional information from Mr Esse.
“Council conducted an investigation following a customer complaint of obstructive rubbish on Racecourse Road. No rubbish was located along the road in accordance with the information received from the resident,” the spokesperson said.
“Given that Racecourse Road spans over a kilometre, a request for more detailed information was made, particularly photos or exact location, to assist us further.”
Mr Esse said he supplied council with more specific information and was again told the matter was closed.
Council was contacted for comment.
Oscar Parry
