Hole lot of trouble
City won’t repair road but won’t let locals do it either
A WALLINGTON dog trainer has been told by Geelong council he is no longer allowed to repair the potholes on the dirt lane leading to his property, a decision many of his clients say is simply barking mad.
James “Jimmy” Graham, of Jimmy’s Dog Training, in Barry’s Lane, took to Facebook this week to explain the poor state of the road to the dog lovers who attend his weekend classes, and encourage those vexed by the many deep potholes to contact the council via an app.
“As you may know if you have attended weekend classes recently, Barry’s Lane after the weather is in horrible condition!” Mr Graham wrote.
“We are no longer allowed to maintain the road according to the council, so we have to wait for them to fix it for us. If you have an issue with the road please download this app and report it to the council, help us get the road fixed.”
He said he and neighbour, well-known equestrian Murray Lamperd, of Bellarine Horse Riding Centre, had been maintaining the road at their own cost for many years — regularly buying truckloads of gravel and crushed rock to fill the holes and spreading it.
However, they had been told by council this was not their responsibility and they had to stop fixing the road.
“We’ve been maintaining it for years and all of a sudden the council came in and said it’s our road,” he said. “The potholes are getting deeper and deeper, and something needs to be done, it’s not just terrible for cars, it’s dangerous for (Murray’s) horses.”
Mr Graham’s father, Gary Graham, who owns the land used by Jimmy’s Dog Training and Bellarine Horse Centre, said his family had been using Barry’s Lane as an entrance to their family property since 1970.
“Since that time we’ve been maintaining it, but the council recently instructed us that we weren’t allowed to do so because of a public liability issue,” Mr Graham Sr said
“In the last four years our rates have gone from $2200 to $10,000, surely some of that is supposed to go towards maintaining roads.”
City of Greater Geelong acting director of city services Peter Godfrey said Barry’s Lane was not designed for the high volume traffic it had been experiencing.
“This road is an unformed dirt road and its purpose is for use as a fire access track. Under the city’s road man- agement plan it receives minimal maintenance,” Mr Godfrey said.
“Unfortunately, abutting owners have been undertaking unauthorised private works on the road, causing dust issues in summer and impacting on the roadside native vegetation.”
However, the Addy has seen correspondence from the City of Greater Geelong to the clients of Jimmy’s Dog Training who submitted complaints about the pot-holed road, which states the council is not required to “inspect, maintain or repair” Barry’s Lane.
The council response to complaints also states Barry’s Lane property owners must fund the construction of a road that meets council standards, before the City of Greater Geelong agrees to maintain it.
The council wants people to use nearby Lings Rd to access Jimmy’s Dog Training and the Bellarine Horse Centre instead of Barry’s Lane, but Mr Lamperd said that route would not only add 3.2km to the journey of those accessing the businesses from Ocean Grove, but would also see people drive through land where animals were roaming free, which would be dangerous.
“They (the council) is threatening to kill two businesses,” he said.
Clients of Jimmy’s Dog Training have supported Mr Graham’s Facebook call for action, with one saying it was about time the council “stepped up to the plate”.