Victorian Government
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‘Opportunity to provide certainty’ on DPO24
After years of stymied development and restrictions in key Lancefield growth areas, landholders are now getting a fairer hearing for their predicament than ever before, as the state election approaches. They are asking for removal of Development Plan Overlay Schedule 24 that has hindered land freedom and development for 27 landholders across three areas. The…
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Push to pause on Clarkefield
Macedon Ranges Shire Council has formally called on the Minister for Planning to defer a decision on a major Clarkefield development. MRSC wants Amendment C164 put on hold until major unresolved planning, infrastructure, safety, environmental and financial matters have been independently reviewed and addressed. It is also seeking the minister undertake an independent peer and…
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Housing questions left unanswered
Housing targets for the Macedon Ranges are set at 13,200 dwellings by 2051 but council queries about how those figures were formulated have so far been unanswered. The state government set targets for each municipality last year and warned councils they would need to unlock land for housing or it would “do it for you”.…
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‘Hands off’ the Ranges
“We don’t want to be Melbourne. We don’t want urban sprawl. So, hands off!” was the message Macedon Ranges councillor Daniel Young directed at the state government last week. It comes as the council continues its battle against inappropriate development at Clarkefield in a 2300-home proposal that the state government will now decide. The proposal…
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Council seeks data on roo harvesting
Macedon Ranges Shire Council will again call for facts and figures on the state government’s Kangaroo Harvesting Management Plan ahead of its 2028 review. Councillors are determined to understand how the program was formulated, the data supporting it and whether the Macedon Ranges should be included based on that evidence. The move was in response…
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Crossing fix soon for Woodend
Pedestrian safety improvements will begin this month where two school children were struck by vehicles during two separate incidents at Woodend in April. The incidents occurred at Romsey Road on April 21 and April 28 when children were walking home from school. Both required medical care and one was taken by road ambulance to hospital…
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A frontline service for animals
For the past 10 years, Nikki Medwell has spent her days (and often nights) caring for sick and injured wildlife at the Red Box Wildlife Shelter – her rehabilitation sanctuary in Elphinstone. While the 60-acre bush block, located near Leanganook (Mount Alexander), was spared by the January bushfires, the impacts on the shelter were profound.…
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Restrictions remain for Lancefield
Macedon Ranges Shire Council’s bid to remove planning controls that have stymied Lancefield development has been rejected by the state government. Earlier this month, the council sought to remove the restrictive DPO24 that applies across about 150 acres of township land in three residential zones, impacting about 22 landowners. The planning tool intended to create…
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‘Race still on’ for Clarkefield
“Premature, insufficiently resolved, and not yet justified” is how Macedon Ranges Shire Council has described controversial plans to transform Clarkefield into a new township. The council has called for the development to undergo a full public hearing before an independent planning panel in its preliminary submission to the state government. The planning amendment in question,…
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Haste on Clarkefield plan “unreasonable”
Macedon Ranges Shire Council has called out the state government’s haste in its four-week consultation on a development planned to change the face of Clarkefield. At council’s meeting last week, Cr Jennifer Anderson revealed the council had been informally refused a time extension on its submission to the process. With submissions closing yesterday, MRSC has…
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Still in with a chance
The Kyneton and District Town Square Co-operative says it remains committed to securing community access to the Old Kyneton Primary School site after almost nine years of advocacy. Co-op board member Peter Henderson said the group was “very excited” to have been shortlisted as head tenant/lead operator for the site after submitting an Expression of…
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Clarkefield future in focus
A 2300-home development will change the face of Clarkefield if approved and now the Victorian Government has opened consultation. The move follows Macedon Ranges Shire Council’s calls for broad community awareness and input after the plans were referred to the state’s Development Facilitation Program. Draft Macedon Ranges Planning Scheme Amendment – C164macr proposes a new…