Hi there, I am Tangen. A male staffy mixed breed. Loyal as!

I am only two, so full of life and a big personality, I will keep you happy with my playful antics, zoomies, and cuddly moments. I am a bit of a goofball and have boundless energy, so I am always ready for a game, an adventure, or a friendly wrestle. I am a very affectionate boy and once I burn off energy I am happy to settle down and soak up attention. I might just need a little training and guidance to help me improve my manners. Microchip number: 956000018916482
Come and meet me at MAAWs. 5472 5277 | shelter@maaw.org.au

Pick me, pick me is run in memory of Rosie the Kelpie & Curly the Cocker Spaniel – we picked them from the Peninsula RSPCA.

Pick me, pick me is also proudly supported by Daylesford’s petstock – where pets are family.

A major milestone has been reached on the federal and state governments’ North East Link, with tunnel boring machine (TBM) Zelda breaking through in Bulleen.

This completes excavation on the first of the two three-lane tunnels: the northbound tunnel.

Zelda is one of two TBMs building Victoria’s largest road tunnel from Watsonia to Bulleen.

TBM Gillian is continuing excavation of the southbound tunnel and is expected to break through in the coming months.

The tunnels will provide a direct route for up to 15,000 trucks each day, reducing travel times by up to 35 minutes between Melbourne’s north and east.

More than 39,000 precast concrete segments manufactured in Benalla have been installed inside the tunnels.

Crews are now building the road inside the tunnels and installing electrical, lighting and safety systems.

Above ground works are continuing on key connections into the tunnels and the Greensborough Road boulevard.

North East Link is delivering three major road projects, including the new tunnels as well as upgrades on the M80 Ring Road and the Eastern Freeway.

To the north, construction is progressing on the M80 Ring Road Completion flyover bridge.

Traffic is expected to move onto the new Watsonia Road bridge in the coming months.

More than 12,000 jobs are being supported across the project.

North East Link is jointly funded by the Australian Government ($5 billion) and the Victorian Government ($21.21 billion) and will open to traffic in 2028.

60 years in any job is something worth celebrating – but 60 years of being a teacher is extraordinary.

A 60-year veteran of education is among the 307 long-serving teachers and support staff being honoured today.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Education Ben Carroll congratulated hard-working teachers and support staff at the annual Recognition of Service awards.

Staff were presented awards for 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 years of service to public education in Victoria.

Education veterans include John Mooney OAM PSM, who has worked in our public schools since he graduated in 1966.

John has been Principal of Emerson School, a specialist school in Melbourne’s southeast for 29 years, and also served as principal at specialist schools in Frankston and Ashwood.

He was awarded the Public Service Medal for contribution to students with disabilities in 2014, and an Order of Australia Medal followed in 2020.

Schools with multiple staff being recognised this year include:

• Balwyn High School with a 50, 45 and 40 year recipient.
• Bendigo Senior Secondary College with a 40, 45, and 50 year recipient.
• Glen Waverley Secondary College with three 40 year recipients and one 50 year recipient.
• Haddon Primary School with two 45 year recipients.
• Greater Shepparton Secondary College with a 40 and 50 year recipient.
• Portland Primary School with a 40 and 50 year recipient.

Quotes attributable to Deputy Premier and Minister for Education Ben Carroll

“Today, we say thank you to those teachers and education support staff who have taught generations of young learners.”

”Whenever I speak with our hard-working teachers, I’m struck by their dedication to making sure our children thrive.“

”I’m proud that Labor has made Victorian teachers the best paid in the nation – because they’re the best in the nation.”

A Winter Meditation

“For the poor wren, the most diminutive of birds, will fight, her young ones in
the nest, against the owl.” Lady Macduff. Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

Diminutive wrens flitting from ground to tree
On freezing cold mornings, in furious southerlies
Along with the thorn-bills and red fire-tail finches
You tiniest of birds in these grim winter pinches
Searching for food when your whole world lies dormant
Living out life in each hard earned instalment.
At night in the hedgerows you ache to keep warm
With foxes and cats and rats on the swarm.

As I grizzle and grumble my way through the garden
Rugged up and well fed you exhort me to harden
my spirit, my reason, my will and my might
As you work from the dawn then into the night.
You bustle around my verandas all day
And talk to me, gladden me, brighten my way.
I honour you, look to you, to you raise my cup
To your fragile existence which you never yield up.

– Tom Perfect

Tom Perfect loves reading in his garden in Glenlyon where he is surrounded by an endless array of birds. He also loves rhythm and rhyme in poetry.

In life there are a couple of things that give me the shits and this is just the place to air them out and create conversations around nitwits and head- scratching situations.

But lately there are a couple of things that have boiled to the surface of my universe that have given me a rash-style reaction. A fair-dinkum twitch and itch that turns into a rash and is quelled by an antihistamine. These were recently reignited by hantavirus cruise ship – oh no, here we go again…
It got me reflecting on how much Covid still affects me and how many bad memories I still harbour because of that time in our lives that we were locked down, locked out and locked in. The time when if a pig had have flown past the window, I would have bid him a good day.
There are a number of songs on my Spotify I can no longer listen to including the one that talks about riding shotgun underneath the hot sun, and quite a few more which I listened to every afternoon going around and around the Glenlyon Reserve.
Which brings me to another point, I can’t bring myself to walk around the reserve anymore – I have swapped it for Lake Daylesford. I can’t drive down there even though it is less than a kilometre away as it is the place that I shot all my Covid photos for The Local. It was actually the perfect outdoor studio with light, shade, cover from the rain, plenty of windbreaks and a plethora of different backdrops. But I can no longer face the joint.
I also can’t bring myself to watch some old favorite TV shows like Midnight Diner, a show that focuses on a late night diner in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, with its mysterious chef known only as “Master,” and the lives of his customers.
Donna and I binged the absolute bejesus out of it and I only have to hear the intro to start running to the spare room and switch on the other TV.
Meals I can no longer enjoy are just homemade ones. I can eat them out every day of the week, but I just can’t bear to cook them at home again. They include ramen, crispy-skin barramundi and veggies, and some pasta dishes.
I just got so caught up in the whole isolation thing, we didn’t eat out in over a year with the exception of a lockdown feed at a local pub that turned out to be not worth it in terms of fear, and the food that wasn’t all that crash hot for the price.
On the subject of food, one time in the early days of the pandemic I bought a hamburger from McDonalds. I undid the paper so the burger rolled out and dropped onto the tonneau of the ute, then discarded the paper and sanitised my hands. I then ate the morsel without the use of my lips, just my teeth so any bugs transferred would go straight down and be dealt with by the acid in my gut – once again an experience that wasn’t worth the fear.
The final thing that still gets me reaching for the sanitiser, which I carry in both of the front doors of our cars along with a piggy prodder for any road rage incident that comes my way is handshaking. I can’t bear to shake someone’s hand without holding my own like it has been dipped in acid, until I can apply the magic healing sanitiser.
So, let’s hope nothing comes from this latest rodent virus. FFS first it was bats now rats, what’s next, cats? Virus rant over…

Well here I am penning another article for you, the reader, to enjoy…
This time I’ll be showcasing some amazing plants from around the world that I have come across in my travels.

1. Let’s start with couroupita guianensis known as the cannonball tree and this common name is spot on as the spherical fruits that follow the truly amazing flowers (see image taken in the Cairns Botanic Gardens, Far North Queensland) can have a diameter of up to 25cm. This species is in the botanical family of Lecythidaceae and is native to parts of Central and Southern America where it grows in lowland tropical rainforests.

2. Ficus dammaropsis has a well deserved common name of dinner plate fig as the extraordinary leaves can reach 90cm in length with a width of 60cm (see image taken in the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne). This species in the botanical family of Moraceae is native to the highlands of New Guinea where the leaves are pickled or cooked and eaten with pig meat by the highlanders.

3. Sequoiadendron giganteum in the botanical family of Cupressaceae has several common names such as Big Tree, Giant Sequoia and Wellingtonia and is one of the longest lived tree species in the world with purported ages of up to 3200 years old.
This particular specimen has a local name of Grizzly Giant (see image taken in the Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park, California) due to its gnarly upper branches that have resulted from severe fire damage over the years…with a basal diameter of 9m and a height of 64m it is relatively small as the average height of this species is 85m, with some trees approaching 95m. Its native distribution is restricted to 81 groves in the Sierra Nevada of California.

4. Tacca integrifolia in the botanical family of Dioscoreaceae has a very appropriate common name of white bat flower (see image taken in the Cairns Botanic Gardens, Far North Queensland) and is native to parts of Southern Asia. I first came across this unusual perennial plant that grows up to about a metre in height with similar spread at the Cairns Botanic Gardens on my first visit many years ago. It remains one of my favourite plants of all time.

5. Yucca brevifolia in the botanical family of Asparagaceae has a common name of Joshua tree (anyone remember the Irish rock band U2’s 1987 album?) and is primarily native to the Mojave Desert in Southwestern USA where it can grow up to 15m and live for several hundred years. My photo was taken in the Joshua Tree National Park, California when my niece Millie got married there in 2022.

So there we are, five quite different species that just show the diversity within the plant world. Other amazing plants can be seen in Central Highlands botanic gardens such as Kyneton (jubaea chilensis – Chilean wine palm), Malmsbury (ceratonia siliqua – carob tree) and Wombat Hill (cedrus atlantica glauca group – blue atlas cedar).
And the next time you’re in the Big Smoke, pop into the Melbourne Botanic Gardens (use the online census) to see gems such as hesperocyparis macrocarpa – Monterey cypress, keteleeria fortunei – Fortune’s keteleeria and taxodium mucronatum – Montezuma bald cypress.

Head to www.tlnews.com.au Issue 357 – for all the images listed here.

Cheers John Beetham (trading as Trees in Australia).
Next time: Winter flowering plants for the garden.
Scan the QR code to see JB’s instagram post.

Timber and firewood businesses will have the opportunity to buy 7000 tonnes of storm debris removed from the Wombat State Forest when DEECA auctions it off in Daylesford on Tuesday, May 26.

Severe storms in 2021 impacted around 45,000 hectares across the forest – with approximately 1600 hectares severely damaged.
Acting Deputy Chief Fire Officer Vincent White said Forest Fire Management Victoria prioritised managing storm debris and hazardous trees in areas of the forest where they increased bushfire risk and blocked safe access for firefighters.
“A huge number of trees fell in the 2021 storms. Many have been left in the forest to provide habitat and other environmental benefits. We have only removed them where necessary to reduce bushfire and other safety risks,” he said.
“In January 2025, we responded to a fire in the forest near Barkstead where it took first response crews three times longer than usual to create a control line around the fire as they needed to cut a path through storm debris. Now, we are in a much better position to respond to fires quickly, and better protect communities, critical assets and the environment.”
During recovery and bushfire risk reduction works, DEECA carried out biodiversity surveys, protected sensitive areas, restored tracks and assets, managed weeds, replanted native species, and improved habitat through new tree hollows and rope bridges.
Nearly 10,000 tonnes of by-products from the Wombat State Forest were made available to communities as free firewood through the domestic firewood collection program. Using the principles in Victoria’s State Forest By-Products Framework, by-product from storm debris works was moved to free firewood collection sites in the nearby Murray Goldfields region where supply has been limited.
Debris has also been given a second life as plant stakes and wood wool for animal bedding, with root balls being used for fish habitat along streams.
“While the purpose of these forest and fire management works is safety and forest health, the by-products they generate can be useful and have value, and we want to ensure that they’re used by the Victorian community,” Mr White said.
Any income from the sale, after administrative costs are accounted for, will go to Traditional Owners, with options for distribution to be examined in partnership with Traditional Owners.
Where works occur in an area where there is no recognised Traditional Owner group, consideration will be given to directing revenue to a fund for the benefit of First Peoples. Link: forest.by-products@deeca.vic.gov.au

Words: Kyle Barnes 

As I said in the last edition, I am not for building from scratch. But one can be worn down by one’s husband – and also the promise of the new.
Let me be clear, I love the Glenlyon School. It has character, it has strength, it has charm. But it also has levels which proved challenging in a wheelchair with a broken ankle earlier this year. And it was built in 1861 so by no stretch of the imagination is it new, not even last century.

So a new build is enticing. One level – not that I am planning on any other breaks – and lots of mod cons. A walk-in pantry with a plumbed fridge. A real laundry with cupboards and drawers. A double sink. Not one but two sitting areas. Bedrooms with built-in-robes – as in all bedrooms. A huge shower in the ensuite. Call me shallow but this new home is calling me.
Anyway, as I said in the last edition we signed up with Sherridon Homes – Victoria’s leading new home builder. Just to be sure.
As of May 4 not much had happened. We had chosen colours and bits and pieces like roofing, tiles, flooring etc. And we had paid a deposit to make sure the build happened. And we double checked that there was no price increase because of this terrible war, and stupid Trump.
All good, said our sales guy Lee Dern. “We are not passing on any costs – we can afford to hold that.” Fantastic. One of the reasons we went with Sherridon – big builder. Not sure but I think this conflict/war might make it hard for some of the smaller guys to exist. And that’s sad. As I said, stupid Trump.
So, onto the past two weeks. Lee called when the article came out. I think he was pleased with all I said. I guess it is great, free advertising.
Meanwhile, Kyle tried to make a tiny change to one of the rooms – he wants to make a secret room (not so secret now) without a door. One of those Get Smart sort of doors that you push and it opens and you have this room which could be anything. I am showing my age now with that reference. I never even got Kaos and Control. I think I might have been quite a dumb child. (You probably can’t say that now…un-PC.)
But I digress. I did argue the room toss. Kyle said it could be a place to hide all our collectibles but I said we had none. He said it could be a place to hide all our wine but, you know, let’s face it, we don’t even have a wine rack. I saw a recipe for leftover wine once and laughed and laughed. Anyway, Kyle is determined to get his room – even if it is just a panic room for when we run out of wine.
But when he raised it with our building person, not Lee, another staffer, they said it had to be in the original plans and they could not be altered now. Even though nothing has been put on the block yet, not even a concrete slab. I thought that was a bit rough but perhaps that is how they keep their prices down. The price point is really good.
The staffer was also worried about the lack of mains water. We explained Glenlyon, like plenty of regional villages, does not have much in the way of services. No gas either. We feel lucky to have power.
And then she said we did not have a septic plan in place. Grrr. Kyle did all that through Ballan Plumbing, who are great, and they sent it to Hepburn Shire Council on January 30. But nothing had apparently come back. Kyle made a call to the council’s planning department and all was quickly resolved. The council did put out a recent media release saying the planning department was on top of things. Hmm.
As I said in the last edition, the jury is out for me so far. I love the idea of a new house but I don’t like the idea of having a mortgage again. We shall see. I will keep you informed. Home Watch. NB: The slab should be in by the end of the month!
Words: Donna Kelly

Volunteering is critical to Australian society, especially at times like this, delivering essential services from support in the care economy to food relief and shelter as well as strengthening community cohesion, improving mental health and reducing social isolation.
While the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that volunteering is resilient with 9.5 million Australians volunteering in 2025, similar to 2020 levels, the sustainability of this trend is not guaranteed.
“Cost-of-living pressures directly affect people’s ability to volunteer, and at the same time lead to increased demand for the essential services that volunteers help provide, such as food relief,” Volunteering Australia CEO Mark Pearce said.
“Australians are spending significantly more hours volunteering with organisations with a total of 618 million hours volunteered in 2025, up from 490 million hours in 2020.
“This demonstrates the commitment of Australia’s volunteers, but also suggests growing demand for essential services provided by the volunteer workforce.
“We welcome the measure (by the federal government) to provide $5.7 million over four years from 2026–27 (and $1.7 million per year ongoing) to continue capacity building initiatives within the families and communities sector.
“This provides increased base funding for peak bodies, including Volunteering Australia.
“We also welcome the continuation of the Volunteering and Community Connectedness funding stream, including funding for the Volunteer Management Activity and Strong and Resilient Communities and volunteer grants.
“In addition, we welcome the government’s commitment of $0.4m in 2026-27 to enable the National Office for Child Safety, to continue implementing the National Standards for Working with Children, including screening.
“Despite stable volunteer participation, we cannot take Australia’s volunteers for granted. Strategic investment in volunteering remains crucial to safeguard its contribution to resilient and cohesive communities, and to ensure it is sustainable.”

In rural and regional areas, access to healthcare is shaped by things like geography, workforce availability and infrastructure. But perhaps most important are the dedicated volunteers who show up each day to cover so many roles.

Volunteers bridge the gap that distance and limited resources can create, while providing companionship and friendship throughout people’s healthcare journey.
Across the Hepburn and Macedon Ranges shires, from Clunes, Creswick and Daylesford to Kyneton and Trentham, the support, effort, time and commitment shown by our Central Highlands Rural Health volunteers is remarkable.
Our volunteers take on their chosen roles with generosity and commitment, and their presence transforms clinical environments into places full of warmth and connection – spaces where people are not just treated but truly cared for.
Our volunteers deliver meals, ensuring our residents have access to fresh food and connection. They provide friendship and time to aged care residents and hospital patients, even sitting for hours on end with our dialysis recipients, helping pass the time with friendship and presence.
Many volunteers also lend an extra pair of hands at working bees, gardens, fundraising activities, entertainment and social support programs. We also have a number of volunteers who use their experience and professional skills to help us shape the future of our local health network by being on a variety of committees.
Our volunteer cohort is as diverse as the communities they serve. Retirees, students, professionals, and community members from all walks of life and unique experiences coming together with a shared purpose – to give back. And we are a stronger health network because of their selfless contribution.
If you’re interested in volunteering with Central Highlands Rural Health and want to find out more, please email Di.Connors@chrh.org.au

Returning to the Macedon Ranges for the fifth year of veggie fun, and to Mount Alexander Shire for the second year, 2026’s Edgy Veg Award winning scores are in!

With the hugest number of scores yet, 946 customers tried a vegelicious dish and cast their votes this year.

Mount Alexander winners

In Mount Alexander, the highest scoring dishes for the restaurant, pub and bar category was for the second year in a row Shedshaker Brewing, for their Pumpkin & Ricotta Ravioli.
In the café category, there was a tie for first place between Saffs Café with Autumnal Okonomiyaki and Togs Place Café with Zaatar Tofu.
Mount Alexander also celebrated a category of bakeries this year, with Johnny Baker taking the award for its Ginger, Carrot & Pineapple Cake.
Mt Alexander 2026 winners and runners-up: Bakery – 1. Johnny Baker (Winner), 2. Maldon Bakery; Cafe – 1. Saffs & Togs Place, 2. Five Flags Merchants; Restaurant & Bar – 1. Shedshaker Brewing, 2. Klua Sathorn Thai.

Macedon Ranges winners
The Woodend Cellar & Bar has won the restaurant, pub and bar category, a first-time winner, with their sophisticated Faux Gras, a play on Foie Gras. This lush, savoury mousse of roasted mushrooms, cashew butter, and umami-rich seasoning was a well-deserving winner.
In the café category, Macedon Ranges Wholefoods in Gisborne won for the second year in a row, with their Turkish Bride Soup.
Macedon Ranges 2026 winners and runners-up; Cafe – 1. Macedon Ranges Wholefoods 2. Paysanne Cafe; Restaurant & Bar – 1. Woodend Cellar & Bar, 2. Fook Shing.

Edgy Veg’s competing local business owners said the burst of interest and increased custom from both locals and visiting Edgy Veg Awards diners, had helped ease things for their businesses during a cost-of-living crisis. The project is delivered by Veg Action of the Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group.
It is supported by Healthy Loddon Campaspe, Mount Alexander Shire Council, Macedon Ranges Shire Council, Community Bank Gisborne & District, Snap Fitness Woodend and RT Edgar Real Estate.
Healthy Loddon Campaspe team leader Simone Hooppell said healthy communities were built on strong local food systems. “We know from Active Living Census data that people in our region aren’t eating enough vegetables. By encouraging fresh, seasonal, vegelicious meals, the awards play a key role in celebrating and strengthening our local food culture.”
Mount Alexander Shire Mayor, Cr Toby Heydon said the awards celebrated the chefs, local business, growers and communities at the heart of the local food system.
Words: Kyle Barnes

As I said in the last edition, I am not for building from scratch. But one can be worn down by one’s husband – and also the promise of the new.

Let me be clear, I love the Glenlyon School. It has character, it has strength, it has charm. But it also has levels which proved challenging in a wheelchair with a broken ankle earlier this year. And it was built in 1861 so by no stretch of the imagination is it new, not even last century.
So a new build is enticing. One level – not that I am planning on any other breaks – and lots of mod cons. A walk-in pantry with a plumbed fridge. A real laundry with cupboards and drawers. A double sink. Not one but two sitting areas. Bedrooms with built-in-robes – as in all bedrooms. A huge shower in the ensuite. Call me shallow but this new home is calling me.
Anyway, as I said in the last edition we signed up with Sherridon Homes – Victoria’s leading new home builder. Just to be sure.
As of May 4 not much had happened. We had chosen colours and bits and pieces like roofing, tiles, flooring etc. And we had paid a deposit to make sure the build happened. And we double checked that there was no price increase because of this terrible war, and stupid Trump.
All good, said our sales guy Lee Dern. “We are not passing on any costs – we can afford to hold that.” Fantastic. One of the reasons we went with Sherridon – big builder. Not sure but I think this conflict/war might make it hard for some of the smaller guys to exist. And that’s sad. As I said, stupid Trump.
So, onto the past two weeks. Lee called when the article came out. I think he was pleased with all I said. I guess it is great, free advertising.
Meanwhile, Kyle tried to make a tiny change to one of the rooms – he wants to make a secret room (not so secret now) without a door. One of those Get Smart sort of doors that you push and it opens and you have this room which could be anything. I am showing my age now with that reference. I never even got Kaos and Control. I think I might have been quite a dumb child. (You probably can’t say that now…un-PC.)
But I digress. I did argue the room toss. Kyle said it could be a place to hide all our collectibles but I said we had none. He said it could be a place to hide all our wine but, you know, let’s face it, we don’t even have a wine rack. I saw a recipe for leftover wine once and laughed and laughed. Anyway, Kyle is determined to get his room – even if it is just a panic room for when we run out of wine.
But when he raised it with our building person, not Lee, another staffer, they said it had to be in the original plans and they could not be altered now. Even though nothing has been put on the block yet, not even a concrete slab. I thought that was a bit rough but perhaps that is how they keep their prices down. The price point is really good.
The staffer was also worried about the lack of mains water. We explained Glenlyon, like plenty of regional villages, does not have much in the way of services. No gas either. We feel lucky to have power.
And then she said we did not have a septic plan in place. Grrr. Kyle did all that through Ballan Plumbing, who are great, and they sent it to Hepburn Shire Council on January 30. But nothing had apparently come back. Kyle made a call to the council’s planning department and all was quickly resolved. The council did put out a recent media release saying the planning department was on top of things. Hmm.
As I said in the last edition, the jury is out for me so far. I love the idea of a new house but I don’t like the idea of having a mortgage again. We shall see. I will keep you informed. Home Watch. NB: The slab should be in by the end of the month!
Words: Donna Kelly

Volunteering is critical to Australian society, especially at times like this, delivering essential services from support in the care economy to food relief and shelter as well as strengthening community cohesion, improving mental health and reducing social isolation.
While the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that volunteering is resilient with 9.5 million Australians volunteering in 2025, similar to 2020 levels, the sustainability of this trend is not guaranteed.
“Cost-of-living pressures directly affect people’s ability to volunteer, and at the same time lead to increased demand for the essential services that volunteers help provide, such as food relief,” Volunteering Australia CEO Mark Pearce said.
“Australians are spending significantly more hours volunteering with organisations with a total of 618 million hours volunteered in 2025, up from 490 million hours in 2020.
“This demonstrates the commitment of Australia’s volunteers, but also suggests growing demand for essential services provided by the volunteer workforce.
“We welcome the measure (by the federal government) to provide $5.7 million over four years from 2026–27 (and $1.7 million per year ongoing) to continue capacity building initiatives within the families and communities sector.
“This provides increased base funding for peak bodies, including Volunteering Australia.
“We also welcome the continuation of the Volunteering and Community Connectedness funding stream, including funding for the Volunteer Management Activity and Strong and Resilient Communities and volunteer grants.
“In addition, we welcome the government’s commitment of $0.4m in 2026-27 to enable the National Office for Child Safety, to continue implementing the National Standards for Working with Children, including screening.
“Despite stable volunteer participation, we cannot take Australia’s volunteers for granted. Strategic investment in volunteering remains crucial to safeguard its contribution to resilient and cohesive communities, and to ensure it is sustainable.”

After listening to the local community and working with Department of Transport & Planning, Hepburn Shire Council is working on a range of road safety and transport improvements across Trentham, with advocacy and planning works underway, and funding secured for upgrades to local roads.

A media release said the Department of Transport & Planning had indicated in principle support for a speed limit reduction.
“Council will be seeking approval for reduced speed limits across Trentham. These include an extension of the existing 40 km/h zone through the centre of town, an extension of the existing 50 km/h zone to better reflect recent development, and discussions about speed limits near the Trentham Transfer Station have been flagged.
“There has been some strong advocacy by community for pedestrian crossings to be installed on High Street. As High Street (between Bridge Street and Cosmo Road) is managed by DTP, any funding of crossings in this section rests with them.
“The proposed speed limit changes are an important first step and will form part of the longer-term discussion regarding pedestrian crossings. Consultation would involve significant discussion with the Trentham businesses and community, to give consideration to suitable locations, the impacts of potential parking loss in the town centre, and constraints created by existing driveways.”
The release said the council had also secured funding for pedestrian connections and crossings at Bath and Albert streets, along with five other road safety projects across the Hepburn Shire. The council will also consider the partial or full closure of Bath Street once master planning work on Trent Creek is completed.
Words: Kyle Barnes

Hepburn Shire Council has received several questions and comments regarding outdoor dining and trading permits, specifically around Burke Square in Daylesford.

A media release said outdoor dining was an important amenity across the shire and the council acknowledged its importance to both community and businesses.
“We are preparing to complete a comprehensive review of our Outdoor Dining and Trading Policy over the next six months, which will include the opportunity for community and businesses to help shape the policy.
“We appreciate both community and business interest and will communicate how to get involved on our regular communication channels. While this process is underway, permits will continue to be issued in line with the current policy.”