Cessnock City Council will be refurbishing a number of the garden beds that line Vincent Street in Cessnock’s CBD including the removal and replacement of over 15 trees, several of which are Honey Locus’ (Gleditsia tricanthos).
“On February 28 Noxious Weed Control Order 2014 was gazetted by the NSW Government, noting the Honey Locus as a Class 3 weed,” said Mayor Councillor Bob Pynsent.
“This means that the plant must be fully and continuously suppressed and destroyed.
“These works demonstrate Council leading the way with regard to control of noxious weeds across the Local Government Area.”
Of the trees to be removed, Council will be replacing them with 12 new advanced Callery Pears (Pyrus calleryana) Chanticleer trees, plus the regeneration of each garden area with Japanese Box Hedges, Camellia Sasanqua Petites, Nandina Gulf Streams and associated soil/mulch and drainage.
The garden refurbishment is a part of the Cessnock CBD Master plan, which was developed and adopted by Council in 2012 in conjunction with key stakeholders including government authorities, business owners and operators, landowners, people who use the CBD and special interest groups such as the Cessnock Chamber of Commerce.
Chamber of Commerce President, Geoff Walker, says the Chamber is excited about the landscape works, as they will complement the Chamber’s Laneway Project following the recent opening of Mama’s Laneway.
This project will provide a consistency of style and “brand” of the CBD as more laneways are developed in the coming months.
Council has allocated more than $80,000 over two financial years for the works, which include the garden renovations, painting of planter boxes at the front of Hotel Cessnock as well as some outdoor eateries, and the cleaning and sealing of pavers in the Cessnock CBD.
