MORISSET residents were rapt to see a council crew mow the most controversial strip of grass in the town on Thursday.
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The grass on the council-owned land, at the corner of Yambo and Station streets, had stood three metres high earlier this year.
Locals had begun to call the site the "Morisset jungle".
A stand-off developed between Lake Macquarie City Council and the owner of a block of land near the site, Peter MacIntyre.
Mr MacIntyre was adamant that council should be mowing grass on land that it owns.
Council said it had assumed that landowners would take responsibility for maintaining the grass fronting their land.
The town was split over who should mow the land.
But they were unanimous in their view that the long grass was not a good look.
The prolonged stalemate prompted local newsagents Sue and Gary Stoddard to eventually mow the strip themselves.
So it was no surprise on Thursday to see locals smiling when they saw the council's CiviLake crew mowing and tidying the site.
The Lakes Mail asked what had happened to change the council's stance.
A council spokesperson said that the work was done "due to a safety concern".
"The council, in general terms, still encourages the property owners to maintain the footpath area outside their properties and council will only respond if it is deemed as a potential safety issue," the spokesperson said.
"To help preserve the amenity of the Morisset local area, council asks that property owners take pride in their community and assist in maintaining the appearance of their neighbourhood."