By Melanie Earley of 
After creating an "urban jungle" at his house in Freemans Bay, Mark van Kaathoven began planting the berms. Photo: Stuff / Jason Dorday
A garden was once hailed as an "inner-city oasis" by Auckland Council's Watercare now faces the chop at the hands of another council entity: Auckland Transport.
Mark van Kaathoven and his husband have spent almost 30 years turning their Freemans Bay property into an "urban jungle" teeming with life.
The garden has led to van Kaathoven filling the berms with greenery and by request, has been planting neighbouring berms, tending several local gardens and supervising the planting of Freemans Bay Park.
Van Kaathoven said during Auckland's drought they had the downpipes on their house rearranged so they could direct water from the roof into catchment vessels of their choice, and during the recent floods the garden protected their home from flooding, while a number of nearby properties filled with water.
But two weeks ago, a letter arrived from AT, which van Kaathoven worries will undo some of his hard work.
The letter, delivered to houses on Beresford Street West and Hepburn Road, said AT was aware berm planting on the street had taken place without approval.
"We're not suggesting existing plantings need to be removed, but we are stating they need to be trimmed back so they don't impinge on the footpath or roadway," the letter said.
"No new plantings can be started until either AT provided direct approval or the AT berm planting policy that's currently being developed is finalised in a way that allows further planting."
The letter said if the plantings were not cut back to a "suitable level", AT would consider clearing all the planting except the original trees and restore it to being a grass berm.
Van Kaathoven said the letter had come as a surprise and a number of his neighbours had been in touch with him asking what was going on.
"I don't understand why AT couldn't have a meeting with me first and come out here to see the work I'm doing.
"I was told AT had received a complaint from a resident, I'm a member of the Freemans Bay Residents' Association, so that person could have approached them before AT.
"I'm happy to trim it back a little, but the photographs they sent where they'd circled areas in red is too much to cut back."
Van Kaathoven said if AT had a problem with the planting, the agency should've contacted him 20 years ago - before the plants were well established.
"In the past, I've had Watercare write about the water conservation we've been doing here. It's been named a five-star garden by the NZ Gardens Trust and the local board gave me a good citizen award."
The Watercare article mentioned how van Kaathoven was planting other public verges in his street with trees to create shade, like a "natural air-conditioning system".
"Now all of a sudden, there's a problem with the work I'm doing. I have no intention on getting rid of the plantings.
"I spoke with a guy from TreeCare who came out to look at the berm on behalf of the council and he told me he didn't see a problem with it."
An AT spokesperson said complaints had been received about the berm plantings, including from the local board.
"The complaints included concerns that the overgrown berm planting was making the area difficult for people to travel through safely, including school children.
"It was unclear who was responsible for the planting, so a mail drop was delivered to the area setting out AT's concerns."
The spokesperson said AT had been in contact with residents on site who had since started trimming the plants.
Waitematā Local Board chairperson Genevieve Sage clarified they occasionally received complaints from locals and would refer those to AT, rather than making complaints themselves.
According to AT's website: "Residents are not permitted to plant on berms."
AT did not exist when van Kaathoven began the plantings in 1995, as it was established when the supercity was formed in 2010.
- This story was originally published by Stuff.
