MEDIA RELEASE: Organisations encouraged to plan for routine maintenance and upkeep
Moonee Valley City Council is encouraging all organisations to undertake regular, routine maintenance and upkeep works to buildings and fences to avoid major, lengthy reconstruction works that impact public access and safety.
This follows recent public attention raised by a local private school. In this matter the school expected Council to waive Road Occupancy Permit and reinstatement fees associated with works despite the public and students being unable to access the footpath and nature strip for more than five months.
Safety is the number one priority of Council and protecting and promoting public safety for all who live, work, and play in Moonee Valley. This includes students, members of our aging community and people living with disability.
When our roads, footpaths and nature strips are blocked for private works for extended periods of time, it does not just cause traffic congestion and potential damage to public infrastructure, it reduces community access to critical amenities and public transport options. Most importantly, it compromises the safety of pedestrians, cyclists, and the community.
Developers and organisations, including private schools that need to undertake work are required to obtain a Road Occupancy Permit and pay associated fees to ensure that works are conducted in a controlled and responsible manner.
This permit reduces risks to the public while facilitating the development of essential infrastructure projects. It also balances community safety and efficient project delivery.
The Road Occupancy Permit fee is a conscious measure to encourage responsible behaviours in developments and ensure public safety. If Council did not have the Road Occupancy Permit fee in place it would allow developers or anyone undertaking works to block public roads, footpaths, and access-ways indefinitely, without any recourse.
This is a situation that has occurred in other municipalities and Moonee Valley is actively working to avoid this.
The recent matter involving a private school saw works of significant scale extended beyond the anticipated timeline for completion. This resulted in additional costs being accumulated, and public assets impacted.
At the time the recent matter occurred the fee was $1.15 per square metre of public land occupied per day. The total area of public land occupied was 815 square metres over 161 days. It’s important to note this scale of fee is unusual with both the length of time and large size of area contributing to the final amount.
In this case, Council was able to provide support to the organisation out of goodwill, with a significantly reduced permit fee. Subsequently, Council also waived additional fees associated with the extended occupancy accumulated beyond the initial permit period.
Moonee Valley is known for our well-presented streets, parks and gardens, and measures such as permits are key to ensuring our community continues to enjoy a safe, clean, and accessible municipality.
ENDS
Media enquiries:
Tess Garrod
Team Leader Media and Communications, Moonee Valley City Council
P: 0484 010 461 E: media@mvcc.vic.gov.au