Macedon Ranges Shire Council
-
Feedback sought on Hanging Rock plan
Feedback has opened on Macedon Ranges Shire Council’s updated Environmental Management Plan for Hanging Rock.The plan will continue environmental works, such as weed control and revegetation, and focus on enhancing the site’s vegetation and habitat. Ecological restoration specialists, Practical Ecology, updated the plan funded by the Victorian Government.The plan builds on the work outlined in…
-
Farmer wants a home
A Malmsbury cattle farmer is fighting to make his shed turned ‘man-cave’ into a legal residence. Travis Bruni is seeking permanent residence to farm a purebred Angus and Hereford breeding herd and fodder production.He said his shed at the Youngs Road property gradually evolved into a residence over 18 months as he found increased presence…
-
Festival fail – Tourism drawcard leaves much to be desired
This year’s Macedon Ranges Autumn Festival wound up in the gutter with the leaves, local residents have complained.The festival, aiming to boost tourism and local trade earlier this year, has been criticised for being “poorly developed, poorly communicated and lacking in business participation”. “[It] left the community as a whole bewildered. We have to do…
-
Council error to VCAT
“Extension by stealth” is how some objectors have described changed operating conditions for Holgates Brewhouse’s discovery centre and beer gardens. Macedon Ranges Shire Council has admitted to lifting two planning conditions that controlled operating hours and alcohol consumption at the Woodend venue, without community consultation. When in place, the conditions restricted visitor centre and garden…
-
Clubhouse condition critical
Woodend golfers are urging action to bring their dilapidated clubhouse up to building code or for demolition to rebuild.Last year, Macedon Ranges Shire Council set aside $200,000 to bring facilities up to scratch but members report little movement. “We haven’t seen any evidence of that money being spent,” Woodend Golf Club secretary, Barney Hearnden said.“The…
-
Communication breakdown?
Residents cut off from power and telecommunications for days in June’s storm are questioning Macedon Ranges Shire Council’s communications with residents in emergency.Web, social media and phone proved ineffective means of communication for thousands of residents cut from power for between one to six days. “We were cut off from power and running water for…
-
Grand plans for Clarkefield?
Developers have hatched a grand plan for the future of Clarkefield and yesterday began community consultation on their proposal. APD Projects is overseeing the proposed development of between 350 and 450 homes on 26 hectares of land in the town’s centre that would form the first stage of what its website describes as the “future…
-
Deconstructing the museum
Kyneton Museum is hosting a new immersive project titled Museum Undone in June.Undone is a playful encounter with the Kyneton Museum collection, engaging with history and its gaps, as part performance, part exhibition. Created by cross disciplinary artists and Metanoia Theatre, the work is an immersive choose-your-own journey through collective possibilities for an imagined future.Performers (Alexandra Harrison, Jannete…
-
Good for your soul
Singing is making a comeback! Macedon Ranges Shire Council’s initiative #creativeencounters has funded several projects across the shire including a ‘pop up choir’ project that local choir leaders Tara Flinn and Andrew Price, together with music presenter and grant winner Elly McKinnon, are rolling out over the next three months. The project is called ‘Sing…
-
Status boost for Daffodil Festival
Kyneton Daffodil and Arts Festival has been named a shire signature event in Macedon Ranges Events Strategy 2021-25 after councillors pushed for the status boost last month. The festival, which attracts at least 18,000 people over 11 days each year, was previously regarded as a tier-two event against the council’s rating system, suggesting it was…
-
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…
-
Ranges declares climate emergency
Macedon Ranges has joined 32 Victorian local councils in declaring a climate emergency and stepping up its plan for action. In its next budget the council will consider increased climate action response, which includes two paid staff ($189,000 total), and $50,000 over two years to accelerate its Cool Changes program to all towns by 2023.…