Killarney Vale: Lucinda Ave community garden to be torn down by Central Coast Council
Residents of Lucinda Ave in Killarney Vale are fighting to save a community garden from being removed by Central Coast Council.
Central Coast
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It’s a spot where neighbours come to socialise and walkers stop for a chat to talk about the beautiful flowers. They often walk home with a fresh bunch of cauliflower or a handful of parsley and coriander.
Now Central Coast Council is going to demolish the Lucinda Ave community garden if residents don’t remove it by Friday July 31.
The council has cited the garden’s location in an “ecologically endangered community” as reason for the forced removal.
Long time Lucinda Ave resident John Mabey, 80, said small gardens had been established along the lakeside for the past 20 years. When floods washed them away, the community rebuilt and started growing again.
“This year’s flood washed everything away,” Mr Mabey said. “When the council workers were cleaning up they offered us some logs so we built this garden.
“We all pitch in and look after it, I bring my hose over and water it. People walking or cycling past stop and talk to us and often grab some vegies. It’s just a nice community place that brings people together.”
Three weeks ago, residents on the street received a letter from the council indicating there had been an “illegal encroachment into the Saltmarsh Rehabilitation Area” on council’s land. The area is currently part of a federally funded rehabilitation project.
The letter, from the Estuary Management Team, states the illegal garden bed contained exotic plant species and vegetables.
When contacted by the Express, a council spokeswoman said garden was located in an endangered ecological community.
“This is an important part of protecting and restoring the health of the Tuggerah Lakes estuary and we have had great success along this stretch of foreshore with the ongoing support of community members and volunteers,” she said.
“Council understands the importance of community gardens to our community, however we must ensure the placement of these gardens are not a risk to people or the surrounding environment.”
The council has indicated if the garden is not removed by July 31, its staff will remove it and “charge the offending resident associated costs”.
Mr Mabey said the 3m x 10m garden was back from the saltmarsh. One of his neighbours has written to council asking if the garden could be relocated, however hasn’t received a reply.
“It’s just a small thing, why take it away?” Mr Mabey said.
“If they take it, they take it, but we’re not going to get rid of it.”
The council spokeswoman said saltmarshes were important to estuaries as they provided habitat, shelter and breeding grounds and are the first link in the estuary’s food chain. They also help reduce smells by providing a place for the seagrass wrack to dry.
“Council understands our community are keen to use our foreshore areas, and while this garden bed does not appear to impact the foreshore, the two activities are not considered to be compatible in the long term,” she said.
“Consistent access to the garden bed would cause trampling of these saltmarsh species that are regenerating there and may inadvertently introduce weed species that compete with the saltmarsh.
“We encourage the group to reach out to our staff to discuss options to use existing community garden facilities nearby, or establish a new garden in a more suitable location.”