Council Is Off The Rails

By Duncan Horscroft on August 23, 2011 in News

One can only imagine how much our cash-strapped council could save if they just stopped spending money on shrouding the Waverley municipality in that appalling orange plastic fencing (Plasticus fencus incredibilis).

For years parts of the historic Waverley Cemetery have remained in a state of disrepair with broken fences and collapsed stonework replaced with this orange abomination.

The latest victim of plasticus fencus incredibilis is the railing that runs down from the top of Bronte Gully past the beautifully refurbished area around the waterfall.

This new area is a pleasant oasis where you can easily sit for hours and ponder the meaning of life. One can only wonder why the council was so intent in covering the perfectly sound steel railing with a plastic eyesore.

And it is not just one small section either. The plastic covers the railing all the way from the waterfall up to Bronte Road.

I find it hard to believe that the fence line would be a public liability issue. If that is the case, the council had better sharpen their chainsaws and eradicate the forest of flame trees that tumble down across the gully walkway on a regular basis.

Obviously there hasn’t been sufficient funds to remove one of these fallen trees, which has assumed the same position in the gully for the past four months. But the council can still find the time and money to encase a perfectly good fence in plastic.

Because of the stringent ‘green’ policy the council continually enforces upon residents, which includes recycling, carbon awareness, and refusing residents permission to remove trees on their own properties, it’s time the council reflected on its own behaviour.

Plastic is a no-no and we are continually asked to find an alternative because it has become a major environmental problem.

That plastic will still be there during the next Ice Age. The only way it will disappear is if the council gets off its backside and starts making the necessary improvements to the areas that need it.

Covering something up is not the answer. And covering something up with plastic is an absolute disgrace.