Macedon Ranges Shire Council
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Cuts to home support services in Macedon Ranges
Macedon Ranges Shire Council will scrap at least three home support services in response to ongoing Commonwealth reforms across the aged care and disability services sector. Meals on Wheels and the Home and Community Care Program for Young People will cease by mid-2020, and supported home maintenance and home modifications will end by July 2021.…
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Public glass recycling skip bins on the way
Public glass recycling skip bins will be installed across the Macedon Ranges as the council continues to explore solutions to the current recycling crisis. The council has endorsed plans to remove glass from the current mixed recycling household bin collection service and to investigate introduction of a fourth glass-only bin service for the shire. The…
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Tower call answered for Woodend
A community call has been answered in Macedon Ranges Council’s rejection of a proposed phone tower at the entrance to Woodend. The plan would have seen a 33-metre Optus tower built at the town’s train station near the Christian Street/Corinella Road intersection. Councillor Jennifer Anderson gained unanimous support for her motion to refuse the tower…
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Glass key in solving state recycling crisis
Macedon Ranges’ answer to Victoria’s recycling crisis could provide some relief for several councils struggling since the closure of recycling processor SKM. Council will not only consider adding glass collection to its recycling service, but also the establishment of sorting and processing infrastructure with potential to service beyond the shire’s needs. The ambitious move addresses…
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$60M apartment-style aged care proposed for Gisborne
A proposed $60 million development at Gisborne aims to introduce apartment-style aged care living by 2023. The plan follows amalgamation of Macedon Ranges Health and Victorian aged care provider Benetas in 2018. Benetas spokesperson Bruce Webb said diverse ageing services and retirement living in the region was particularly important considering population forecasts. “Population in the…
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Macedon Ranges urgent call to remove glass from recycling bins
Recycling will go to landfill if Macedon Ranges residents do not heed an urgent call to remove glass from recycling bins. The council has sought recycling alternatives since the closure of its processor SKM Recycling with assurances efforts would continue but was forced to send several loads of recycling to landfill last week. Macedon Ranges…
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Runway plan scrapped
Plans to extend Kyneton Airfield’s main runway to the south for fixed-wing aircraft have been scrapped in the latest draft master plan for the site. The move intended to facilitate aerial firefighting operations, as cited in the abandoned 2016 draft master plan, but early investigations met with disinterest from potential users and exposed problematic positioning.…
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Plan endorsed, doubts remain
The Macedon Ranges has moved a step closer to receiving high level protection for its sensitive landscape as the first gazetted distinctive area and landscape in Victoria. The Statement of Planning Policy was endorsed at Macedon Ranges Shire Council’s ordinary meeting last Wednesday in a 5-2 vote after it was sent back to the state…
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Council acts on wastewater
Growing concerns over Coliban Water’s releases of low-quality wastewater into the Campaspe River have been relayed to the Minister for Water, Lisa Neville. Last week Macedon Ranges Shire mayor, Cr Janet Pearce and CEO Margot Stork met with representatives from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and ministerial staff at Ms Neville’s Melbourne…
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Reform ‘a step backwards’
Macedon Ranges has joined a chorus of local councils demanding answers on a major proposal to reintroduce single-member ward structures state-wide. The change would likely carve Macedon Ranges into nine council wards with individual representation, but the restructure call has been widely criticised as ‘a step backwards’. Macedon Ranges Council has called for choice over…
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Steps forward for Hanging Rock
Hanging Rock’s East Paddock will be purchased by the state government from Macedon Ranges Council via a $3 million commitment over the next three years to implement the Hanging Rock Strategic Plan. The purchase will prevent any future plans to commercially develop the site, as was controversially proposed by a former council that sought private…
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TOWERS CALL – Council in bid for innovative solutions
Macedon Ranges Shire Council has won support after doubling down on its call for stronger governance on the placement of telecommunication towers in the natural landscape. Taking its fight to the Australian Local Government Association for the second time, the council saw a small victory in the decision to lobby for increased federal funding for…