$100,000 hedge shuffle shows why moving mature plants costs more than you think

When Whitehorse City Council announced it would spend $100,000 to move a hedge just four metres as part of the Box Hill City Oval redevelopment, residents understandably raised their eyebrows. After all, most of us have moved a shrub or two in our backyards for the cost of a bit of sweat equity and maybe a new spade.

But this particular landscaping shuffle tells a more complex story about mature plant relocation, council project management, and the hidden costs that make local government spending seem baffling to ratepayers. Sometimes what appears to be bureaucratic madness actually makes practical sense - though that doesn't mean we shouldn't ask the hard questions about how our councils spend our money.

What's really behind the hefty hedge bill

The existing pavilion and adjacent wooden buildings on the oval's western side will be demolished and replaced with a contemporary, multipurpose venue. This $3.7 million transformation of Box Hill City Oval isn't just about cricket nets and new turf - it's part of a comprehensive facility upgrade that has funding from both the Commonwealth and Victorian Governments to support the project.

The controversial hedge relocation centres on 20 mature Photinia plants that currently cast too much shade over the cricket practice nets. Photinias are one of the most popular hedging plants in Australia, becoming extremely popular in Australian gardens thanks to their spectacular bright red new growth foliage and their highly effective hedging qualities.

According to Mayor Andrew Davenport, the council faced a choice: remove the hedges entirely and replant with different species, or relocate the established hedge to reduce shading while preserving what residents had identified as the 'only one of its kind in the municipality.'

The hidden complexity of mature plant relocation

Before we dismiss this as council profligacy, it's worth understanding what's actually involved in relocating mature hedging. Successfully transplanting mature trees requires careful planning, expertise, and attention to detail.

The average tree transplanting cost is $800, with prices typically ranging between $300 and $1,000. Size is a key determining factor in the price to transplant a tree, with a small 5- to 10-foot ornamental tree costing around $300 to $500 to move to another position within the same yard. Scale that up to 20 mature hedging plants plus the associated infrastructure work, and suddenly $100,000 doesn't seem quite so outrageous.

Why mature plants are expensive to move

The challenge with established hedging goes well beyond just digging up plants and plopping them down elsewhere. Photinias make perfect hedges because of their rapid growth and dense foliage. Regular pruning will help to maintain a really tidy dense hedge. But this same vigorous root development that makes them excellent hedging also makes them difficult and expensive to relocate successfully.

The spot you transplant from will still have approximately 75 per cent of the moved plant's root system left in the ground. This means the council isn't just paying to move hedges - they're also paying to rehabilitate the original site and prepare the new location.

Council spending in context

To put this expenditure in perspective, collecting, treating, and disposing of Australian domestic waste costs local government an estimated $3.5 billion annually. Whitehorse City Council's $226 million budget reflects a responsible balance between delivering projects that are important to the community, while maintaining vital services in an unpredictable economic environment.

The hedge relocation represents less than 0.05 per cent of the council's total annual budget, though that hardly makes it immune from scrutiny. What's more telling is how the council plans to offset the cost: by reducing other planned landscaping work elsewhere in the project.

The governance question

While the technical justification for the expense makes sense, the real issue here might be about communication and community engagement. Six residents attended a council meeting in July to object to the hedge removal, describing it as unique in the municipality. This suggests the community values were already known before the expensive relocation option was chosen.

The controversy highlights a broader challenge facing local councils: how to balance fiscal responsibility with community expectations while managing increasingly complex infrastructure projects. Whitehorse Council continues to keep rates low, capped at a 2.75 per cent increase while dealing with escalating project costs.

Learning from the hedge shuffle

This Box Hill hedge saga offers several valuable lessons for both councils and ratepayers. For councils, it demonstrates the importance of early and clear communication about why certain options cost what they do. For residents, it's a reminder that mature landscaping has genuine value and complexity that isn't always immediately apparent.

The next phase of the Box Hill City Oval project will be closely watched, with construction expected to commence in late 2025, with all works expected to be completed by April 2026 except for the new western pavilion, which has an estimated completion date of mid-2027.

Whether the hedge relocation proves to be money well spent will ultimately depend on whether the relocated plants thrive and whether the improved cricket facilities deliver the community benefits the council promises. But at least now we understand why moving a hedge four metres can cost as much as a luxury car.