News
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Culvert crash – resident calls for roadworks for safety
Barfold resident Maggie Supple is calling on her local council to take action to prevent a serious car accident on her road. Maggie had a close call while driving home recently when she veered to avoid a deep pothole and her car fell into a hidden concrete culvert. Maggie lives on Mill Road, a narrow…
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Restoration plans for Ellim-eek
An “abundance of vacant commercial properties in Kyneton” has helped secure the restoration of a circa 1906 house of heritage significance. The Edwardian single-storey brick building at 178 Mollison Street, also known as Ellim-eek, was at the centre of council debate last week over plans for a two-lot subdivision that would change its use from…
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Forged in fire
Limited copies of a unique handmade book recounting personal Black Saturday bushfire survival stories by residents of the Redesdale area are poised to become part of permanent collections at the Australian National Library and the State Library of Victoria. Entitled Out of the Flames, into the Light, the handmade and very limited edition books feature…
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Council ready to fight
The decision on a controversial 711-lot development plan in Gisborne now falls to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal after Macedon Ranges Shire Council failed to make a decision within a reasonable time-frame. Councillors made one last effort to highlight concerns for the 39 Willowbank Road proposal at the ordinary meeting last week, which attracted…
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Farm zone nod
Farming activities are expected to intensify for a notable Rochford equine property as Macedon Ranges Shire councillors went against the grain to grant a discretionary use permit. Councillors approved a second abode for a 30.43ha property at 556 Boundary Road, which falls within the Farming Zone with strict rules to limit fragmentation of agricultural land.…
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Black ban on Green
A key objector to a disputed Lancefield development plan overlay has been legally ordered to keep his distance from Macedon Ranges Shire Council offices. Lancefield resident Robert Green was slapped with a ‘declaration of prohibited person’ notice on June 12 relating to alleged disrespectful interactions with council officers. Awestruck by the allegations, Mr Green said…
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A face to the word
Young people in Kyneton got the opportunity to put a face to the word ‘refugee’ and hear first-hand of their experience during a special schools visit last Tuesday for Refugee Week. Kyneton’s Social Foundry brought with them Malaysian-born Richard and Riya, who now live in the Bendigo region and have pending refugee status in Australia.…
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Irrigation plan a silver bullet?
A plan to dispose of excess wastewater from the Kyneton Water Reclamation Plant has been hatched by Coliban Water in partnership with major trade waste producer, Hardwicks Meatworks. The project aims to prevent any further release of diminished quality water to the Campaspe River, following Coliban Water’s admission it had been forced to make unauthorised…
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Climate call continues
Castlemaine students are among the many Australians who continue to demand meaningful action to address climate change. And on Friday afternoon the local teens took their concerns to the streets yet again. This time at least 50 students including many from Castlemaine Secondary College took strike action, marching from their schools to Castlemaine’s Theatre Royal…
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A win for conservation – National Park recommended for the Wombat Forest
A Wombat-Lerderderg National Park and Cobaw Conservation Park will be created if the state government accepts recommendations released by the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council on Friday. Tasked by the state government to conduct a two-year investigation into the forests of central west Victoria, VEAC’s final recommendations aim to restore the health of the forests. They…
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A Victorian first
Up on the hill in Harcourt, local fruit growers Katie Finlay, Sas Allardice and Merv Carr have been busily working to form new venture Carr’s Organic Fruit Tree Nursery. Growing their own rootstocks from seed and cuttings and then later grafting and budding an array of delicious fruit varieties onto them, they are now ready…
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Surprise $3M for new station
Riddells Creek firefighters are elated with the guarantee of a new $3 million station by 2021. On Sunday, local MP Mary-Anne Thomas announced a surprise addition to the initial $950,000 promised in the Victorian Budget 2019/20 for refurbishments. Brigade captain Tom Morley said the change in scope was “amazing news” and aligned with future plans…