Macedon Ranges Shire Council
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Donated land in doubt
Descendants of Humphrey Dixon have challenged plans for retirement aged care living on land in Gisborne donated for community healthcare purposes. Benetas has applied to remove building restrictions on the land for its project through a combined planning scheme amendment (C147macr) and planning permit. The amendment seeks to rezone the land from its current Special…
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Vision for Lancefield Park
A vision for Lancefield’s key sporting precinct has been set in a new Lancefield Park Recreation Reserve Master Plan. The plan includes a 10-year action plan with more than 40 separate projects with short, medium and long-term priorities for implementation, and strategic direction. Some of those high-priority projects include a tennis clubrooms extension, Laurie Green…
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Amess Road fate close
The Riddells Creek community will soon have answers on the final direction of an Amess Road development that could change the face of their town. In October, the Minister for Planning referred both the application for a permit to build, and draft amendment C161 to the Macedon Ranges Planning Scheme, to a standing advisory committee…
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Garbage truck turned paddock bomb
A truck driver has walked away unscathed after his garbage truck crashed onto its side in a residential street in Kyneton last Friday. The accident occurred shortly after 7am at the bottom of a hill in Riverwalk Boulevard, when the truck careened through a fence and came to a stop in a paddock. The Midland Express understands…
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“Not Melbourne, not Brunswick”
Retaining Kyneton’s historic charm and country identity will be key as Macedon Ranges Shire Council pushes ahead with future design plans. Councillors were adamant that Melbourne-style planning was not fit for Kyneton when adopting the draft Kyneton Urban Design Framework with changes last week. The document is a strategic plan for streetscape and public realm…
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Council seeks answers on school site
The Old Kyneton Primary School site remains fenced off one year on from its scheduled redevelopment completion date, and Macedon Ranges Shire Council is seeking answers. The Victorian Government invested $12 million for the Baynton Street site for community use with a gallery space with areas for community groups by March 2024. Speaking at council’s…
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Council to join service centre fight
Macedon Ranges Shire Council has slammed plans for a Calder Freeway service centre at Woodend and will join petitioners to fight it. Plans include three fast-food restaurants with drive-throughs, 174 parking bays for cars/trucks/caravans, internally-illuminated signage, and construction of two new on/off freeway ramps. Woodend residents have launched a campaign and petition to stop the…
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Tiny homes, big problems?
Kerrie residents have warned a proposal for four short-stay accommodation ‘tiny homes’ could create big problems if approved at 131 Shannons Lane. Provider ‘Shacky’ has plans for group accommodation at the 35.38 hectare site but nearby residents have alerted council to road and safety risks. Resident Helen Franklin said Shannons Lane was a single-carriage, dirt…
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Fight ignites over service centre bid
Woodend residents are fighting an application for a freeway service centre at the edge of their town, just four years after VCAT rejected a similar proposal. Plans include three fast-food restaurants with drive-throughs, 174 parking bays for cars/trucks/caravans, internally-illuminated signage, and construction of two new on/off freeway ramps. The applicant, Welsh Leisure, has appealed to…
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Building connections by a simple visit
Valuable connections are forming through Macedon Ranges Shire Council’s Aged Care Volunteer Visitors Scheme. The free service, federally funded, matches a council-organised volunteer with an eligible participant for regular visits, to provide companionship and reduce social isolation. Maddie decided to volunteer during her final years of high school to improve her skills and give back…
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Gisborne open space push
A small but valuable parcel of land could provide Gisborne with much-sought open space if Macedon Ranges Shire Council can acquire it. The 4.5 acres at 120 Aitken Street was donated to the local primary school for use as a pine plantation and bird sanctuary in the 1920s. At that time, 18 local families and…
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Grow your club
Sports clubs and active recreation facilities in the Macedon Ranges and Sunbury are being offered the opportunity to increase their membership numbers. Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health is partnering with Macedon Ranges Shire Council to host a workshop delivered by Proud2Play, designed to build capacity in LGBTIQA+ inclusion. “We know that sport creates a community…