COTTESLOE council will order a private gate blocking a public lane be removed after a special meeting to discuss the issue last night.
Councillors agreed to cancel a licence held by Lillian Street residents Sonya and Greg Madden for an electronic gate that neighbours said blocked their use of cul-de-sac right of-way 64 (ROW 64) off the street.
The special meeting was closed to the public to consider confidential legal advice about the barrier.
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READ NOWCouncillors’ eventual resolution said the gate had been locked contrary to the licence, and the installers had taken steps to restrict others’ access through ROW64.
Chief executive Mat Humfrey will instruct the council’s solicitors to write to the Maddens, giving them 14 days to conform with the order, with potentially another 14 days if another letter is needed.
Neighbours claimed they discovered the gate after applying for access to the lane early last year, after which the tussle ended up at the State Administrative Tribunal before being withdrawn earlier this year.
Petitioning by other residents drew the State Government into the dispute, before Lands Minister Rita Saffioti announced an investigation by the Lands Department into the gate this week.
Ms Saffioti said the gate would be ordered to be removed if it was found to have encroached on public land.
Last night, Cottesloe Mayor Jo Dawkins would not comment on why her council had not asked for the gate to be removed earlier.
However, she said the gate was an issue for the council and not the Government.
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