Hedge of reason
To the Osborne family, their macrocarpa hedge is a labour of love that has taken four generations to grow.
To the Kapiti Coast District Council and a group of neighbours led by a former Cabinet minister, it’s a monstrosity, and a danger to pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.
It might take a court to decide who is right after the council requested the hedge be chopped back, and the Osbornes threatened legal action if the council did not back down.
Vince Osborne said his grandfather planted the hedge in the 1930s, and it was now a familiar feature on Te Moana Rd, at the gateway to Waikanae Beach, north of Wellington.
The manicured hedge is taller than many houses, wider than a bus, with an archway cut in the corner to allow entry to the family’s driveway.
Osborne said the first the family knew about the hedge posing a problem was when a letter arrived early this month from eight neighbours, saying it was a traffic hazard. The same letter was also sent to the council.
The family were then called by the council and told another letter was on its way, requesting that the hedge be cut back by February 22.
Neither the council nor the neighbours came to the family directly before the request was made, Osborne said.
Chopping the hedge back to its bare branches would leave a ‘‘big face of dead wood, which looks really ugly’’, and would ultimately kill the hedge, he said.
After requesting a meeting with council staff, the family were given an extension until April to have the hedge cut. He said they felt bullied by the council.
They had never seen a traffic incident on the road, there was no footpath under the hedge on the berm, and there was ample space for cyclists in front of the hedge, he said. There was a footpath on the other side of the road.
But former Labour Cabinet minister and ACT MP Ken Shirley, who lives around the corner, said the hedge had grown on to the public domain. It was over the berm, and at least a metre beyond the kerb on to the roadway.
‘‘It is, in our view, a serious hazard. I know that Osborne denies that. The fact is that there’s no pedestrian-way to walk past there.’’
Osborne might call the hedge an icon, ‘‘but in our view it’s a dangerous monstrosity’’.
He was concerned the council had extended the deadline to cut the hedge, and said urgent action was needed instead.
He said he had seen several ‘‘close shaves’’ with young people walking beside the hedge.
‘‘Our whole neighbourhood, and community, is united in their feeling against the hedge.’’
Council infrastructure group manager Sean Mallon said the council wanted the hedge trimmed back ‘‘to mitigate safety issues for road users’’.
It was a hazard to ‘‘pedestrians, cyclists and motorists’’ and this would only get worse once the nearby interchange from the Kapiti Expressway opened.
‘‘We appreciate the hedge is a feature, but we do have a responsibility to ensure public safely. We are giving the owners time to sort the matter and don’t want to lose the hedge if it can be avoided.’’
Kapiti Mayor K Gurunathan said he had spoken to the Osbornes and would seek to visit the hedge with other councillors.
The council was obliged to act after the complaints, because there seemed to be a clear infringement of council bylaws.
‘‘But are there solutions that could satisfy both parties? I think that’s a magnificent hedge, and it would be a shame to take to it with a hatchet.’’
Retired Kapiti-based lawyer Christopher Ruthe, who has offered to assist the Osbornes should they take legal action, said the hedge demand was in breach of Local Government Act requirements for consultation.
‘‘There is no evidence of the trees being a hazard.
‘‘I find it very disturbing that KCDC would issue the notice without consulting the landowners.’’