LOCAL business identity Pawl Cubbin says ever since Territory and Municipal Services replaced grass with “unsightly” drought-tolerant shrubs in the Kingston hub three years ago, business in the area has been steadily declining.

“Shops have packed up, there are less people at the cafes,” Pawl says.

“When there used to be grass here, people would spill out and sit on the grass, it was a usable area. Now it’s an overgrown mess.”

In 2010 TAMS undertook landscaping works to the value of $145,000 to replace the then irrigated grass with drought-tolerant plants and shrubs, as well as new brick and gravel paths, extension of brickworks and a timber play sculpture.

Pawl, who heads Zoo Advertising in Kingston, says he is happy with the infrastructure changes, but is calling for the ACT Government to consider restoring grass in the area to “breathe life” back into Kingston.

“We’re not asking to change the infrastructure, just the plants, and it would cost nothing, I could pay for it myself,” Pawl says.

“Places like Manuka have the grass, why can’t we?”

Pawl says he and the Kingston Traders Committee have written to the Government about the issue, with a petition signed by about 35 traders in the area.

“We received a letter back from [Chief Minister Katy Gallagher] saying they’d already spent enough money on the shrubs,” he says.

Co-owner of Kingston cafe Me and Mrs Jones, Socrates Kochinos, says a child playing in the shrubs “accidentally cut themselves on broken glass.”

“These are things that now hide in the shrubs, that wouldn’t be hiding if we had a lawn. This isn’t just about our business… we want to make Green Square a better place for everyone,” Socrates says.

But TAMS Minister Shane Rattenbury says the grass is unlikely to make a return due to “high pedestrian traffic” in the area, making the grass difficult to maintain.

However, Pawl says the most pressing issue is right under their noses.

“Without the grass, it’s just not the same area,” he says.

TOP PICTURE: Pawl Cubbin in the “overgrown mess” of drought-proof Green Square. Photo by Brent McDonanld