Why is Whitehorse Council spending $100,000 to move a hedge?

How much does it cost to move a hedge? $5,000? $10,000?

As part of a motion during Monday night’s council meeting, Whitehorse Council has approved an estimated $100,000 commitment to relocate 20 Photinia hedges, moving them four metres backwards into the car park at Box Hill City Oval.

What will the redevelopment involve?

The council decision is part of a $3.7 million tender for works starting in September, including new turf, synthetic cricket nets, a perimeter asphalt pathway and improved drainage and irrigation.

Council staff initially recommended removing the 20 Photinia plants and replacing them with a hedge under one metre to prevent shading over the cricket nets and protect the new turf from damage.

However, councillor Blair Barker proposed an amendment to the motion: instead of removal, the plants would be shifted by about four metres, pruned to 2.4 metres and the car park reconfigured to fit the nets, path and hedge.

How did the locals react?

Community pushback played a role in the decision.

In July, council letter-dropped nearby homes and updated its website with details of the planned works.

On July 28, six local residents met with council officers to object to the hedge removal, arguing it was the “only one of its kind in the municipality”.

How did councillors react?

Barker said keeping the hedge would help make the site inviting beyond the sporting season.

“We want it to be a place where people have picnics, walk their dogs, or have a kick of the footy with their kids,” he told the Eastern Melburnian.

The amended motion passed 8 votes to 3, with councillor Kieran Simpson voting against it, saying the “risk-reward trade-off simply isn’t worth it.”