By KATH GANNAWAY
SEVILLE East residents were questioning last week how a rubbish dump has been allowed to fester for six weeks on their doorstep.
The Mail first spoke with residents including Barbara Pownall and daughter Lisa in mid-March, almost a month after the first dumped television set off a domino effect with truck-loads of household and hard rubbish accumulating day after day.
As Yarra Ranges Council and VicRoads negotiated ownership of the site, residents continued to make their complaints with no result.
VicRoads spokesperson Laura Oldfield told the Mail on 24 March they were in discussion with Yarra Ranges Council over whose road it was and that they were working with the council “to resolve the issue in a timely manner”.
Last week, they said the matter had been resolved on Friday 28 March, and they were making arrangements to have it picked up.
Yarra Ranges Council told the Mail, VicRoads had finally accepted it was their road, and that the council believed the rubbish had been collected.
But Mrs Pownall said the residents were sick of being the meat in a rubbish sandwich.
“It’s a health hazard and whether it’s VicRoads or the council’s responsibility they (council) should have cleaned it up and worked out later who should be paying.
“They just need to clean it up and argue over it later. It’s a health hazard and a road hazard,” she said on Tuesday with no sign of any action by either party.
Resident Aub Clarke said it was appalling that it had taken so long for two government agencies to work out something as simple as who is responsible for a piece of land on the corner of two prominent roadways.
“They (council) can be up here in five minutes if you put a car for sale there, and it only takes them a few minutes for them to slap a fine on you,” he said.
“If that was down in Seville or Lilydale it would be well gone by now,” he said.
The rubbish was removed on Friday by VicRoads and Yarra Ranges Council has confirmed it has issued eight infringement notices.
