2014-03-25 Infrastructure & Services Committee Agenda

INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES MEETING AGENDA                                        25 MARCH 2014


Across the road from this section of the Reserve is a residential neighbourhood. Historical use of
the Reserve by local residents and many visitors indicates that the community value the
accessibility to Weyba Creek through this section of the Reserve for recreational activity such as
swimming, boating and fishing.

However, the use of the Reserve is creating undesirable impacts on public safety and the
environmental values of the Reserve and River.

These concerns include:

•    numerous access tracks into the Reserve from the urban areas causing fragmentation of
     habitat;
•    persistent damage to the existing trees & shrubs;
•    ladders nailed to trees overhanging the creek bank;
•    rope swings tied to the overhanging trees;
•    large dead trees within the intertidal zone of the creek with exposed branches
•    active erosion and undermining of the creek bank; and
•    bare earth riparian zones, denuded vegetation & compacted soil (refer photos in
     Attachment 1).

A number of options have been considered to address the current and emerging issues on the
site. This report seeks to inform Council about these issues and obtain feedback on how to
respond.


RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report from the Environment Officer (Rivers and Coast) to the Infrastructure
and Services Committee dated 25 March 2014 and note option 3 as outlined in the report as its
preferred option and refer consideration of this issue to the 2014/15 Budget processes.



REPORT
The purpose of this report is to highlight issues for natural area management in a section of the
Weyba Creek Bushland Reserve in response to complaints received from the community
regarding recreational activities.

At the present time the banks in this immediate area of Weyba Creek near Leslie Drive are
suffering serious erosion. A number of the trees which lend themselves to use as ‘swing trees’ for
jumping from the bank into the creek are likely to fail in the foreseeable future. This will further
exacerbate erosion and compromise creek bank integrity leading to bank collapse.

There is a high level of risk to the public due to the current state of the bank and erosion at the
base of popular swing trees.

Increasingly, unrestricted utilisation of the area is putting pressure on previous revegetation
efforts. When one or more of the swing trees fail it will cause further hazards in the stream,
potentially rendering this particular area unsafe for recreational use such as swimming, boating
and canoeing.

The likely cost of removing trees which become hazards in-stream would be significantly higher.
In any event, it is considered that urgent action is required to manage the risk associated with the
failure of one or more of the swing trees in the near future.

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