The Town of Cottesloe council, in Perth's beachside western suburbs, has voted to charge residents $300 for a permit and a $100 annual fee to place play equipment on their verges.
While it has drawn strong criticism from some residents and Local Government Minister John Carey, Cottesloe mayor Lorraine Young said it was a solution that allowed the council to have appropriate insurance and undertake safety inspections of the equipment.
"[This] outcome will allow residents to use the verges for play equipment, without the town being exposed to the risks that could arise from a claim by anyone injured using the equipment," Ms Young said.
She said the risks could be quite small but the consequences, particularly for smaller local governments, were potentially significant.
"There is the potential if we allow equipment to be placed on the verges without ensuring that it's safe, we may find that our insurance won't cover us."
Many Cottesloe streets have unusually wide verge areas. It's also one of the most expensive suburbs in Perth, with average house prices currently at $2,785,000.
With many newly built homes leaving little space for backyards, Ms Young said some residents were looking to make more use of their verge space for children to play.
"We're seeing an increased use of verges which is fantastic, but with really quite significant equipment," she said.
She said to date there had not been any insurance claims made to the council related to play equipment.
Mr Carey was sharply critical of the decision.
"It's absolute madness," he said.
"I think the most telling comment by the mayor was when she was asked how many incidences to date — it was zero.
Minister says it could be free
Mr Carey said the City of Vincent, in Perth's inner-north, had been able to negotiate with its insurer to allow swings and cubbies on verges without charging residents.
He said it came down to how people saw local government.
"Is it just a regulator that creates unnecessary hurdles?" he said.
"Or is it a facilitator that says 'right we've got a problem … let's try to work through this'."
He said the community would lose out because fewer people would make use of their verges.
ABC Radio Perth listeners were divided on the merits of paying for a permit to use the space in front their homes.
Evelyn: "Will the council also check every verge tree to check it's safe for climbing up? This is ridiculous."
Michelle: "It's great that Cottesloe are allowing play equipment on verges. It is a very small council and it's not surprising they need to insure against this risk."
Cara: "If councils are responsible for verges why are residents responsible for maintaining them?"
Adam: "The Cottesloe council approach is fair enough. The equipment is on council land so someone injured could sue the council. The charge would go towards insurance and making sure the equipment is in good order. Why should I subsidise the risk as a rate payer?"
No claims since 2017
Vincent mayor Emma Cole said the council had received no claims related to verge play equipment since it began allowing it.
"In 2017 I had just become the mayor, we had had swings in our trees, residents loved them, and you'd go down some of our leafy streets, we've got lovely verge trees, and you would see the odd swing here and there," Ms Cole said.
"They added to the vibrancy, it's a really joyful thing to see a kid swinging in the tree as you go down the street, or when kids walk down the road and have a little play as they go."
However in 2017 the council received a complaint, which prompted it to discuss the issue with its insurer.
"We negotiated with the insurer, we actually didn't have any additional costs coming from this and we changed our policy," she said.
"I feel that we've sort of paved the way for other local governments to be able to have this discussion with their insurer on the evidence that we haven't had increasing insurance claims coming from our swings and cubby houses.
"We're still having the standard public liability claims that really predominantly come down to the more commonplace things, like the footpath trip."
