Road work win for family

The article that appeared in the News on 24 August after the Berry

By Sarah Schwager
A PEARCEDALE family has won its fight against the City of Casey to maintain the road leading to its property.
At last week’s council meeting, councillors decided to overturn a decision that the section of East Road north of Shakelton Street was the family’s responsibility to maintain.
Sharon and Simon Berry were ecstatic at the news that the section of road now be placed on council’s road register.
On 24 August, the News reported that the family was considering a class action against Casey over its refusal to maintain the Pearcedale road and was looking for other residents in a similar situation.
Last week, Cr Colin Butler took a petition by Mrs Berry with 157 signatures to council requesting it make a change to the road register.
The petition was then made into a motion, with councillors adding points to speed the changes along, including that the road be maintained up to the abuttal of the Berrys’ driveway and sign posted accordingly.
Cr Butler said that other people besides the Berrys were using the road and council should take responsibility to maintain it at least once a year.
Mayor Kevin Bradford said common sense suggested the road was used as a public road to some degree.
“It is a legitimate request. Mrs Berry has done a lot of research and knows a lot more about this than us. She needs to be congratulated,” Cr Bradford said.
However Casey chief executive Mike Tyler said the road was not council-owned and making the change to the road register was inconsistent with what it had previously said.
But Cr Butler said this case was an “extraordinary situation”.
“It may be against the policy but it is only a technicality,” he said.