FAQs

Council operates the Roads and Reserves Annual Maintenance Program (RRAMP) to manage verges in accordance with our existing resources. However, it is not feasible for AHC to maintain every verge in the district. Of all the verges in the AHC area, less than 5% are owned and managed by Council, with the remainder being owned by State and Federal government.  

Roads that are included on the RRAMP have been prioritized for treatment on the basis of traffic volumes, access and egress, and the connectivity of road systems that provide strategic fuel control breaks in the landscape. Council will reduce fuel loads on these road verges to the private property boundary where slashing machinery access is possible, or to 1.5 m off the edge of the road where machinery access is restricted. Due to steep or uneven terrain or the presence of obstacles or dense vegetation, it may not be possible to perform any maintenance.

Under the Local Government Act (S221), “A person (other than the council or a person acting under some other statutory authority) must not make an alteration to a public road unless authorised to do so by the council”. The reason for this is to protect native vegetation and other assets, as well as to ensure any works on road verges do not pose a safety risk or otherwise negatively impact other members of the community.

If a resident wishes to undertake modification of the adjacent council verge such as mowing or slashing of grass fuel loads, revegetation with native or introduced species, or clearance of vegetation to provide vehicle access into the property, there are provisions within the Local Government Act 1999 that can facilitate this request. The provisions made within Section 221 of the Act provide for residents to make an application to Council to undertake the care and control of a road verge adjacent their property, and the person must be granted authority from Council before any alterations to the verge are made. Council will negotiate with residents applying for a Section 221 permit on a site-by-site basis.

The Adelaide Hills Council S221 application form can be found here. Please note that if you are seeking to revegetate a verge with native species, your application fee will be waived. 

Council has an annual Roads and Reserves Maintenance Program (RRAMP) in place to manage verges as best we can with our existing resources. However, it is not feasible for AHC to maintain every verge in the district. Of all the verges in the AHC area, less than 5% are owned and managed by Council, with the remainder being owned by State and Federal government. 

Currently, AHC allocates approximately $300, 000 annually under the RRAMP for maintenance of road verges and another $300,000 to vegetation management in Public Reserves, Asset Protection Zones, and on council-managed fire tracks. 

The aim of the RRAMP is to maintain sightlines for road safety and to reduce vegetation fuel loads adjacent road corridors to mitigate the impacts of a fire. Not all road verges in the Adelaide Hills Council district are managed for fire mitigation purposes, as it would not be possible, or have any tangible benefit for Council to reduce vegetation along all road corridors. Unless a fuel load presents an actual risk to adjacent assets or may contribute to significant fire behavior in the landscape, Council resources are used to target areas containing fuel loads that are assessed as exceeding risk thresholds as a more effective way of keeping communities safe.

Council manages and maintains a strategic network of fire tracks on both private and public land to support the CFS and State Government fire management agencies to implement bushfire mitigation strategies or for fire suppression operations. 

Within the AHC, there are approximately 59 km of fire tracks and of those, just under 25 km are owned and managed by Council. The remainder are the responsibility of state government (29 km), , and private landholders (79km). Of the identified tracks Council is responsible for, we carry out regular checks and arrange for maintenance works where required. *

Priority fire tracks identified by the CFS as strategic containment lines or critical to fire suppression operations are scheduled for routine maintenance annually. 

In accordance with the SA Fire Breaks and Fire Access Tracks Guidelines , “Adjoining landowners (regardless of tenure) should cooperate and coordinate the establishment and maintenance of boundary firebreaks (which need not strictly follow property boundaries) to avoid additional impact on the environment.”

*Further detail on fire track ownership breakdown, courtesy of Ari Wilkinson:

• AHC fire tracks =  59km
• Private                  = 79km
• Govt.                     = 29km
• AHC & Private    = 24.8km
• AHC& Rail            = 0.4

Council manages a system called the Native Vegetation Marker Scheme, also known as Blue Marker Sites (BMS) which are areas of native vegetation located on road verges that have been identified as containing significant biodiversity values and are subsequently managed as conservation zones. Council allocates approximately $50,000 annually for the management of these BMS. There were many BMS that were impacted in the 2019 Cuddle Creek fire that are now regenerating into healthy native vegetation communities again. These sites will continue to be managed as BMS and afforded the protections provided by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and the Native Vegetation Act 1991. Residents are not permitted to clear any native vegetation from these BMS without seeking approval from council to ensure compliance with the relevant legislation.

Fires are an integral part of the Australian landscape and have shaped native vegetation communities for thousands of years. Council is not capable of preventing fires from starting or moving through the landscape. However, councils certainly have a role to play in doing as much as reasonably practicable to mitigate the impacts of fires. 

AHC does have multiple programs in place to achieve this, including our Roads and Reserves Annual Maintenance Program (RRAMP), Asset Protection Zone Schedule, and fire track maintenance schedule. We are also currently working to increase educational programs around preparedness and recovery, through the Towards Community Led Emergency Resilience project. 

However, bushfire mitigation is a shared responsibility and residents also need to contribute to these efforts under relevant legislation, according to the Fire and Emergency Services Act S105(F), “Owners of private land must take reasonable steps to prevent or inhibit the outbreak or spread of fire through the land.” This involves clearing large trees, removing flammable materials from around your property and cleaning up regularly ahead of each Fire Danger Season. For more specific information on how to prepare your property, visit the CFS website: Preparing your home & property - CFS