Verges (or nature strips) in the City of Charles Sturt
The verge/nature strip is the area between your house and the road. It can have lawn, landscaping or a garden. Managing the verge is important for public health and safety and helps to keep our streets looking beautiful. It also supports accessibility by ensuring people can move safely along the street, especially in areas without formal footpaths.
Maintaining your Verge/Nature Strip
We have a verge/nature strip management program that helps to maintain public health and safety throughout the year, but you can mow and upkeep the verge/nature strip out the front of your home at anytime.
With more than 52,000 verges/nature strips maintained across the City of Charles Sturt, verge management is no small task. Our verge management program is not a turf maintenance and mowing service and ensures that the verge areas do not pose an unacceptable risk to the community through long grass.
Overgrown verges and nature strips can:
- present a fire hazard
- present trip hazards
- interrupt sight lines for vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians
We encourage you to mow and maintain the verge/nature strip in front of your property if you're able to do so. This improves the look of your property and street, and encourages neighbours to do the same.
We service verges across our community through our program:
- Local roads: 6 scheduled cuts per year.
- Main roads: 7 scheduled cuts per year, generally every 7 to 8 weeks.
Main arterial road centre medians are maintained by the Department of Infrastructure and Transport (DIT).
At peak growing times, extra services may be added as required.
Use ‘Simple Address’ to quickly find your property – just start typing and it will auto‑populate. If needed, you can also use ‘Address Search’ for more detailed options. Your schedule will appear in the ‘General Details’ panel on the right (highlighted in green).
The dates are intended as a guide only and are subject to weather conditions, staff availability, resources and response to urgent requests or emergency work.
1) Use the 'Simple Address' feature, which will auto-populate your address as you type. You can also use the more advanced 'Address Search' if required.
2) You can then find your indicative verge maintenance schedule dates in the 'General Details' toolbox on the right, as highlighted in green below.
If you want to maintain your own verge please log a request on our customer portal and we'll remove your address from the verge management and/or herbicide spraying schedule.
Some streets in our City don’t have a paved footpath.
On these streets, the nature strip (or the verge) becomes the main path for everyone.
When rocks, plants, edging or garden features spread into this space, the path can disappear. When that happens, people may have to step onto the road instead.
For someone with low vision, a guide dog, a wheelchair or a walker, unexpected obstacles can make the street harder and less safe to navigate.
Mindful Nature Strip Styling:
- Keep at least 1.5 metres of clear accessway
- Avoid placing plants, rocks or edging where people need to pass
- Think of everyone using the street, including young children, older neighbours, people with disabilities, and those using prams or mobility aids
If you’re planning new verge landscaping, please follow our permit process to keep the strip safe, usable and ready for any possible future path installations.
How does the verge management program work?
Verges are maintained as follows:
Local roads: 6 scheduled cuts per year.
Main roads: 7 scheduled cuts per year, generally every 7 to 8 weeks.
After the verges have been mowed, street sweepers follow the verge management teams to collect all grass from the road surface. Blower operators follow the verge management team to blow any grass from the footpath to the roadway so it's easier to collect by the street sweepers.
Main arterial road centre medians are maintained by the Department of Infrastructure and Transport (DIT).
My verge is too long, what can you do about it?
If an overgrown verge is posing a potential safety hazard (visibility or otherwise), let us know through our Customer Portal. We will then arrange for an assessment, followed by a reactive cut if required.
Why are the verges so overgrown?
Grass grows quicker at certain times of year. This is because of the combination of wet and warmer weather. Extra verge management services are sometimes engaged to help manage the load. You can mow your verge at any time to keep it maintained.
I want to maintain my own verge
Great! Please let us know via our Customer Portal and we'll remove your address from the verge management and/or herbicide spraying schedule.
What if my property is damaged?
The contractors take great care in their work, but accidents do happen. In the unlikely event your property is damaged during the verge management process, please contact us as soon as possible and provide details about the incident.
How do I go about creating a verge/nature strip garden?
We support our residents to create more beautiful streets. Here's some handy information to help you start your verge garden.
Why do I need to keep 1.5 metres of clear space on the verge?
Do I need a permit to make changes on the verge?
If you want to maintain your own verge please log a request on our customer portal and we'll remove your address from the verge management and/or herbicide spraying schedule.