Attachment 1 to Item 53 - Roadside Vegetation Management Plan

H AW K E S B U R Y C IT Y C O U N C IL R O AD S ID E V E G E T AT IO N M AN AG E M E N T P L AN
3.8 STOCKPILE / DUMPSITE M ANAGEMENT
A number of locations on roadsides are designated for use as stockpile sites, where gravel, soil or roadwork
refuse may be retained for later use or removal. Stockpiling, when well contained, should have
little impact on nearby remnant vegetation. However, when stockpile sites are located within high value
remnants, the risk of vegetation damage is increased due to heavy vehicle activity, particularly if care is
not taken to keep vehicles within the designated stockpile area. Further, if stockpiles contain weed
propagules or plant pathogens, there is a high risk that weed species and plant pathogens will spread
from stockpiles, infecting and degrading remnant vegetation.
Stockpile sites often become invaded by exotic flora and naturalised indigenous species. When road
materials (gravel, soil) are then transported to other areas, new infestations are likely to establish.
Stockpile sites are often unsightly, and may encourage the dumping of domestic waste, or the use of
the site for non-designated recreational activities such as four-wheel-driving. Thus, these sites can be
further degraded through inappropriate uses and activities.
Given the issues associated with stockpiling, care should be taken to place stockpiles in appropriate
locations. Care should also be taken to manage stockpiles as appropriate to discourage the spread of
weeds when soil is later transported and prevent unlawful use.
3.9 FIRE MANAGEMENT
Roads and roadsides play a significant role in fire prevention and suppression in rural areas. However,
in managing rural roads to prevent the spread of fire in rural areas, HCC must also conserve vegetation
communities, flora and fauna species, and their habitat. HCC has dual responsibilities for managing the
spread of fire along roadsides under the RF Act and conserving ecological values under the EP&A Act.
Fire management is generally facilitated through the removal or substantial reduction of vegetation to
create fire breaks. This can encourage weed growth and prevent the recruitment of shrubs and trees,
thus degrading native vegetation communities and flora and fauna habitat. Fire is often a trigger for
regeneration for native flora species, thus prevention of fire along roads can be detrimental to
biodiversity conservation in these areas.
Achieving both the goals of fire prevention and control and biodiversity conservation requires careful
planning and thorough evaluation of all issues involved. To achieve all the goals there is a need to
balance the fire prevention needs against conservation objectives.
3.10 EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION, WATER CATCHMENTS AND POLLUTION
The incidence of erosion on HCC’s rural road reserves is relatively low. However, erosion and
subsequent sedimentation may occur as a result of disturbance from roadside maintenance activities,
including removal of native vegetation, and from inappropriate placement of stockpile sites that may in
turn lead to heavy use of the area by roadside maintenance machinery, and poorly placed turning and
parking areas.
Drainage from roads is often high in sediment and pollutants such as oil and fuel residues. This is
particularly true in built up semi-urban areas. This may affect water quality, and may contribute to
pollution in the water catchment and degrade vegetation communities and flora and fauna habitat.
Where there is potential for this to occur further investigations into Water Sensitive Urban Design
(WSUD) is required to capture any pollutants before they enter natural water ways, which is external to
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