The City of Campbelltown currently has approximately 500km of verges within the Council area and is not able to develop and maintain this for the entire area other than making them safe and accessible generally and planting and maintaining trees.

Residents are encouraged to develop and maintain the verge area beyond this and there are some guidelines and rules around how this is done to ensure safety and accessibility for others within the community. They are also highly contested spaces and contain a range of services for the community including connections to main utilities, stormwater and bin collection areas as well as increasingly becoming important area of potential green space.

Any works or development undertaken on the verge (including planting) needs to be approved by Council and is guided by the Road Verge Development and Maintenance Policy.

Currently a resident may get approval under Section 221 of the Local Government Act 1999 to privately develop a verge area at resident cost provided the type or form of development does not:

• prevent any pedestrian from walking along the verge area in preference to walking on the roadway, regardless of whether a footpath has been constructed or not; and
• prevent any Service Authority or the Council from installing new services or maintaining existing services.

Verge plantings are to be no more than 500mm high and with a trafficable area of at least 1.5m wide and can include Irrigation/grass or other compacted surfaces (not artificial grass). Drought tolerant species are recommended to  reduce watering requirements and increase chance of survival with forecast of increased heat waves and extreme weather events.

Council has developed a verge development guideline booklet, including plant species, to help residents when looking at options for development.

A Road & Verge Authorisation Form Section 221 must be completed if a resident would like to develop their verge area beyond the basic Council standard.

Where property owners choose not to or are unable to maintain the verge adjacent to their property, Council will service this area to the following standards;

• Council will ensure the verge surface is even and free of potholes and depressions or mounds that may present a trip hazard to pedestrians
• Council will treat any verges where proclaimed pest plants have been identified
• Spraying as required.

Any developed verge by a resident must be fully maintained by the resident and any plantings should be kept in reasonable health and not over grown with weeds.