Mr Host made this claim when Gordon Street residents confronted council at its January forum over its decision not to replace the concrete slab footpath it had removed as there was already a footpath on the other side of the street.

Council voted at its January meeting to lay a red asphalt footpath to replace the concrete slabs.

Council had already placed piles of gravel along the street to resurface the verge.

Workers have since spread and compressed the gravel, giving it a more attractive appearance.

“However the natural fall for the majority of the verge in Gordon Street is from the road to the properties, which may result in stormwater being directed into driveways,” the engineers wrote.

“The footpath should have a minimum grade of one per cent fall away from the property boundary to ensure water is not directed from the footpath into properties.

“About five to six properties will require modification to their driveways to increase the height of the driveways internally within the property for a distance of about 3m to match the new footpath heights.”

Council’s executive manager of works and services Ian Bartlett said council would not lay the new footpath until after the first substantial rain event.

“This will give us the chance to observe the effect of the stormwater,” he said.