Environment
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A changing landscape?
Accommodation, restaurants and convenience stores could become part of Macedon Ranges’ farming and rural landscape, under the newly released Draft Rural Land Use Strategy. Greater ease for tourism and commercial activity would come with the new Rural Activity Zone recommended for land in the shire’s northeast between Woodend, Malmsbury and Tylden. A land analysis of…
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Life at The Paddock – Guided site tours on Sunday
Sixteen months after moving into her new abode in Castlemaine’s agenda-setting eco village, The Paddock, Deb Shand is loving her new lifestyle. The retired library technician is an escapee from metro Melbourne and became the proud new owner of one of the first seven residences built at The Paddock after she met project co-founder Neil…
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A fungus lover’s foray into foraging
Interest in foraging for wild food is on the rise, and magnificent mushrooms are very much on the menu. But if you’re gathering your own, you’ve got to get it right. From the right knowledge and equipment, to following a foragers’ Code of Practice. With fungi being incredibly diverse, delicious (and sometimes deadly) a new…
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Ranges residents save tonnes from landfill
Macedon Ranges residents have helped save 8492 tonnes of organic waste from landfill since Macedon Ranges Council’s four-bin service was introduced last year. The new Food Organics Garden Organics bins were rolled out last February and the organic waste collected has been turned into nutrient-rich compost used on farms, parks and gardens across the state.…
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Deposit scheme wait
Litter along local roads and in public places is a pet peeve for Castlemaine local Bill Wiglesworth. He wants to see container deposit legislation introduced in Victoria as soon as possible. For this reason Mr Wiglesworth is among locals quick to welcome the state government’s plan to introduce a container deposit scheme by 2022-23, enabling…
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Kyneton South subdivision to VCAT
Residents of Kyneton South have won the support of the local council in their fight against an 87-lot subdivision for Harpers Lane but the decision will ultimately fall to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The developer has taken the matter to VCAT after council failed to decide on the application within the prescribed time,…
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Glen Junor gone from Gisborne Futures plan
Land known as Glen Junor has been thrown out of Macedon Ranges Shire Council’s controversial 30-year Gisborne Futures draft plan. It came down to the wire in a 4-4 vote with mayor Jennifer Anderson using her casting vote to remove the 210-hectare property from the proposed settlement boundary and structure plan last week. The land…
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Help shape Malmsbury's gardens
Macedon Ranges residents can help shape the future planning of the heritage-listed Malmsbury Botanic Gardens. Macedon Ranges Shire Council has released the gardens’ draft master plan, which opened for community feedback last week. Council’s director of assets and operations Shane Walden said the plan would provide strategic direction for the future of the site and…
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Help shape Malmsbury’s gardens
Macedon Ranges residents can help shape the future planning of the heritage-listed Malmsbury Botanic Gardens. Macedon Ranges Shire Council has released the gardens’ draft master plan, which opened for community feedback last week. Council’s director of assets and operations Shane Walden said the plan would provide strategic direction for the future of the site and…
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Hunt season announced – Animal welfare campaigners slam decision to proceed
Animal welfare campaigners have slammed the Victorian Government’s decision to approve a duck hunting season for 2021. A shortened season for Victoria was announced on Saturday and included changes to shooting start times, daily bag limits and hunted species in recognition of lower-than-average bird numbers and breeding. Regional Victorians Opposed to Duck Shooting said the…
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'Tack-on Sunburyisation'
A developer’s bid to subdivide a 60-acre parcel of farmland at Kyneton South into 87 residential lots would be a complete overdevelopment of the site, local residents say. The land at 85 Harpers Lane is zoned Low Density Residential, paving the way for such a subdivision to occur, but Macedon Ranges Shire Council is still…