Instead, Sebastopol residents say they have spent months worrying about dangerous overgrowth obscuring a historical mineshaft and buildings.

On Monday state authorities finally arrived to cut the vegetation on the block of state-owned land, managed by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) - at least six weeks after local residents first highlighted the issue.

A DELWP spokesperson said the site was part of its slashing program, but works had been delayed due to resources being diverted due to the unusually early fire season in Victoria.

"The fires across the state during the month of December and continued deployments have delayed the District slashing program," said DELWP acting district manager Tony Morris.

He said a 10-metre fuel break had been put in place on December 27 with the full works carried out later.

"The returning resources have given the District the capacity to continue the slashing program, including this particular block, which will be completed today, January 6."

SEE DRONE FOOTAGE WHEN THE CAP CAME OFF THE MINE in 2016:

Sally Learmonth, who lives near the block, said she was among several local residents who had complained.

She said she was very frustrated about the slow action.

After the initial complaint was made to the City of Ballarat, Ms Learmonth said a fuel break was mowed around the perimeter of the block on the western corner of Walker and Grant Streets.

The action was in contrast to other nearby overgrown blocks of land, reported to council at around the same time, which Ms Learmonth said were mowed shortly afterwards.

Even with the fuel break, Ms Learmonth said the measure of cutting fire breaks was inadequate given the densely populated location and the severity of the fire season.

Like other municipalities in Victoria, the City of Ballarat has a mandate to put "fire protection notices" to owners of properties that are deemed to have hazardous overgrowth. If not acted upon, council can pass its clearing up costs on to landowners. While the measure may be effective against private individuals, it is of limited use for state-owned land.

"I don't think it is good enough when it is in a densely populated residential area," Ms Learmonth told The Courier. She said her concerns were exacerbated given the street was in a busy part of town and there was a child care centre nearby.

Another local resident, who did not wish to be named, said the grass was in excess of six feet tall and had been dangerously dry in recent weeks. He said he had also complained a couple of times to the council and had highlighted the issue to the CFA brigade in Sebastopol.

He said the area had been well kept until a little over a year ago: "When it was maintained, it was a very clean, tidy park. It hasn't been looked after."

In the middle of the block is an historic sealed mineshaft and crumbling mining buildings, which shut down more than a century ago.

In 2017, the council granted $15,000 to a local historical society to place interpretative signs near the shaft, which had to be resealed after the cap came off in July 2016. It was later revealed the money had been embezzled and the signs were never installed.

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