A Melbourne couple is facing a bill of around $50,000 after being forced to cut back a century-old hedge.
Guranathan Ganeson and his wife were told their four-metre hedge was blocking the footpath in front of their property in Mont Albert, 19km east of Melbourne’s CBD.
The Ganesons eventually gave up after a three-year battle with Whitehorse City Council, which said it had received several complaints about the hedge, which was first planted in 1908.
They could have kept the hedge if they had decided to pay $6,500 to widen the path, but the Ganesons were not confident the council would not keep coming back with more demands.
“The hurdles that the council put in place were getting more and more difficult,” Ganeson said. 9News.
“There was no guarantee that the council wouldn’t come back if the hedge started to grow and give us more work to do.”
The magnificent hedge took 116 years to grow, but only four hours for professional gardeners to cut it back to little more than stakes, revealing the house to passers-by for the first time.
“It feels empty. It feels like something that belonged there is no longer there,” Ganeson said.
A Melbourne couple are facing a bill of around $50,000 after being forced to cut back a hedge (pictured) that is more than a century old.
Guranathan Ganeson (pictured) and his wife were told their four-metre hedge was blocking the footpath in front of their property in Mont Albert, 19km east of Melbourne’s CBD.
In addition to the emotional cost, there has also been a heavy financial penalty for the couple.
The hedge removal cost them $3,500, there was a $2,500 fee for removing the current fence, a $500 planning permission for the fence, $27,000 for a new fence and other costs.
“By the time this joke is over, it will have cost us $50,000,” he said.
A frustrated Mr Ganeson has urged the council to be a little more lenient in its dealings with residents in future.
“Look at the situation and try to solve it like normal human beings,” he said.
The hedge took 116 years to grow, but only four hours to be cut back to little more than a few sticks (pictured)
In a statement, Whitehorse City Council told Channel 9 the hedge “breached local law” and “was not in compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act.”
Authorised council officers made several attempts to work with the property owner to resolve the issue, held several on-site meetings and arranged quotes from various contractors to carry out any work.
“The owner of the building has rejected all the proposed solutions,” the city council said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Whitehorse City Council for further comment.
