development – Michmutters

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Business

Kyneton residents consider court action to fight development of McDonald’s, Bunnings complex

Three residents stand in front of a vacant paddock holding signs saying 'No Maccas here in Kyneton', 'More Cons than pros'.

Macedon Ranges residents are considering Supreme Court action following a state planning tribunal decision to overturn a council vote to halt a two-part commercial development.

A Kyneton development for a McDonald’s fast-food restaurant, another restaurant, Bunnings and a 24-hour service station was approved by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) last week after the applicant decided to challenge the council’s decision and the conditions imposed.

Susan McNab is one of the leaders of the fight against the development and said residents were disappointed by the court’s actions.

She said the group would look at viable options to counter the decision, but accepted that a loss in the Supreme Court would be costly.

an architectural drawing of a commercial development
The development will carry a McDonalds restaurant, another convenience restaurant, a Bunnings trade center, and a petrol station. (Supplied / VCAT)

“Naturally, we don’t feel the decision is to the benefit of Kyneton. That part of the town is the main access to nearby reserves and people often go out that way climbing and for classic car rallies and cycling,” she said.

“It’s difficult for many residents to not be considered at VCAT.

“It’s been about the economics of the matter. The council said that area would be developed at some point, but this particular style of development works against Kyneton’s character.”

Big brands coming down the highway

The decision almost confirms the introduction of commercial development in Kyneton, which one community group has labeled the ‘tide of overdevelopment’. Residents fear the big brands will take away the small country charm that the town is known for, with small businesses and well-known eateries losing out.

“The proposal will not detract from the rural character of the Shire. The proposal will reinforce the rural character of the Shire by its location [in a commercial zone] within the protected settlement boundary; [and the] containment of its impacts within the subject land,” VCAT’s decision said.

A woman holds a cardboard sign in each hand. One says 'protect cultural land' and the other says 'support local business'
Lenka Thompson started the Keep Kyneton Country group to fight the proposed development.(Supplied: Lenka Thompson)

The decision by VCAT has caused a stir on social media after attracting hundreds of submissions airing concerns about traffic and safety, and the effect the development could have on the nearby environment and local economy.

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Categories
Business

Kyneton residents consider court action to fight development of McDonald’s, Bunnings complex

Three residents stand in front of a vacant paddock holding signs saying 'No Maccas here in Kyneton', 'More Cons than pros'.

Macedon Ranges residents are considering Supreme Court action following a state planning tribunal decision to overturn a council vote to halt a two-part commercial development.

A Kyneton development for a McDonald’s fast-food restaurant, another restaurant, Bunnings and a 24-hour service station was approved by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) last week after the applicant decided to challenge the council’s decision and the conditions imposed.

Susan McNab is one of the leaders of the fight against the development and said residents were disappointed by the court’s actions.

She said the group would look at viable options to counter the decision, but accepted that a loss in the Supreme Court would be costly.

an architectural drawing of a commercial development
The development will carry a McDonalds restaurant, another convenience restaurant, a Bunnings trade center, and a petrol station. (Supplied / VCAT)

“Naturally, we don’t feel the decision is to the benefit of Kyneton. That part of the town is the main access to nearby reserves and people often go out that way climbing and for classic car rallies and cycling,” she said.

“It’s difficult for many residents to not be considered at VCAT.

“It’s been about the economics of the matter. The council said that area would be developed at some point, but this particular style of development works against Kyneton’s character.”

Big brands coming down the highway

The decision almost confirms the introduction of commercial development in Kyneton, which one community group has labeled the ‘tide of overdevelopment’. Residents fear the big brands will take away the small country charm that the town is known for, with small businesses and well-known eateries losing out.

“The proposal will not detract from the rural character of the Shire. The proposal will reinforce the rural character of the Shire by its location [in a commercial zone] within the protected settlement boundary; [and the] containment of its impacts within the subject land,” VCAT’s decision said.

A woman holds a cardboard sign in each hand. One says 'protect cultural land' and the other says 'support local business'
Lenka Thompson started the Keep Kyneton Country group to fight the proposed development.(Supplied: Lenka Thompson)

The decision by VCAT has caused a stir on social media after attracting hundreds of submissions airing concerns about traffic and safety, and the effect the development could have on the nearby environment and local economy.

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Categories
Australia

Wildlife does use highway underpasses, Southern Cross University study reveals

Wildlife does use highway underpasses, Southern Cross University study reveals

Have you ever driven past special road crossings for wildlife and wondered if they actually work?

There’s new evidence to suggest they are effective, based on the first long-term study of road underpasses in Australia.

The research from Southern Cross University (SCU) was published in the journal Ecology and Evolution and based on a two-year study of underpasses located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales.

During that time wildlife cameras detected close to 5,000 medium-to-large mammals and goannas using highway underpasses at Port Macquarie and Grafton.

The researchers studied 12 underpasses in those two areas– five under the Oxley Highway at Port Macquarie and seven under the Pacific Highway south of Grafton – comparing camera trap detections of animals at underpasses with those at nearby forest sites.

A koala at night walking through a highway underpass
A koala is captured on camera using a highway underpass on the Mid North Coast.(Supplied: Southern Cross University)

The lead researcher, SCU Associate Professor Ross Goldingay, said the results were encouraging.

“More than 4,800 detections were made; that number was quite astounding,” he said.

“These crossing rates suggest animals used the underpasses to forage on both side of the freeways.”

Associate Professor Goldingay said certain species, including eastern gray kangaroos, swamp wallabies, red-necked wallabies, red-necked pademelons, and lace monitors crossed some underpasses more than once per week.

A road underpass with trees in the background.
A dedicated wildlife underpass at Port Macquarie where there have been regular animal sightings.(Supplied: Southern Cross University)

“We actually got quite a bit of traffic of animals passing through those underpasses, particularly in Port Macquarie … it’s a wetter forest type there so it seems there’s a greater abundance of animals,” he said.

“We were getting eastern gray kangaroos and swamp wallabies moving through two to four times per week and other species, including the red-necked pademelon was going through once every two weeks, so quite frequently.

“At Grafton we’ve got a very high use of a couple of underpasses by echidnas and another small wallaby called the rufous bettong, which is actually a NSW-listed threatened species.”

‘Prey-trap’ concerns dismissed

The study also dispelled concerns that underpasses could become a “prey-trap” used by introduced feral pests and that animals could become caught in the relatively confined area.

A cute rufous bettong, a small grey, furry animals that looks like a cross between a wallaby and a rat.
The rufous bettong is a small, nocturnal marsupial species that has been seen using the underpasses.(Supplied: Mt Rothwell)

“We looked at that in detail as there have been a couple of other short-term studies where they have had frequent occurrences of foxes in a few underpasses, and in one case in Western Australia that coincided in a decline in the bandicoots using that particular underpass,” Professor Goldingay.

“Because we had more underpasses and a longer period for this study, we were able to look at this in more detail than anyone has before.”

Professor Goldingay said predators which were detected at the underpasses included the introduced red fox, feral cat, and dingo.

“What we found was feral cats were very rare at both sites. We did have dingoes at both sites, but they weren’t very frequent in the underpasses,” he said.

“The red fox is the main concern, particularly in Port Macquarie. Of the five underpasses there, there were three that were used relatively frequently.

“However, the fox activity coincided less than expected with the activity of the mammals most at risk and it seemed potential prey were possibly avoiding using the underpasses when foxes were about.”

Caution still needed

A concrete highway underpass tunnel.
A combined wildlife and drainage underpass at Grafton.(Supplied: Southern Cross University)

Despite the positive study results, Professor Goldingay said any expansion of road networks in Australia still needed to be done with caution.

“Australia’s wildlife species are increasingly threatened with extinction by habitat clearing and fragmentation,” he said.

“One leading cause of this is the expansion of our road network, particularly the upgrade and duplication of major highways.

“Underpasses are a useful generic tool to enable wildlife to move across landscapes with roads. But not all ground-dwelling species of wildlife will find underpasses to their liking but so far, many do.”

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Categories
Australia

Retired couple on Australia’s longest pub crawl say old country hotels are best

Couple selfie photo in front of long historici building with verandah, trees behiind building

A couple from Queensland are on Australia’s longest pub crawl, aiming to have at least one drink in every pub in the country.

Andrew and Ursula Keese set themselves the adventurous task for their retirement and they believe nobody has attempted it before.

“We both like to travel and we both like drinks and we both like to see Australia,” Mr Keese said.

They have ticked off every Queensland hotel and are just about to finish South Australia, where they have pulled up a seat at more than 380 pubs, bringing their total to more than 1,500.

Couple standing in front of modern large white campervan
Andrew and Ursula Keese plan to spend six months each year traveling to pubs across Australia.(Supplied: Ursula and Andrew Keese)

“I’ve been going to pubs since I was literally a baby with my mum and dad, and Ursula’s dream was to buy a motor home and travel around Australia so we thought we’d combine the two,” he said.

They expect it will take eight years to visit every pub in the country which they research online.

“We print out all the towns and suburbs and each state, and as we go we’ll cross off the town or the suburb,” Mr Keese said.

Man and woman in front of William Creek hotel building
Andrew and Ursula Keese at William Creek Hotel.(Supplied: Ursula and Andrew Keese)

“There’s only one website … that lists all the pubs, which is 6,033, but unfortunately it’s about 15 years out of date so we’re finding since that time about 10 per cent of pubs have closed.

“Some stunning old pubs [have closed] which is tragic so we’re hopefully doing our little bit just to promote pubs, especially country pubs and get people traveling out and going to their local once again.”

Reputation precedes them

The couple post photographs on social media and quite often the next pub on their list is expecting them.

“We always get our photo out the front of the pub so we’ve got proof that we’ve been there,” Mr Keese said.

“Some of them have seen us on other pubs they follow and they are happy to see us in their pub.

Woman in pink top leaning over bar to pat dog behind hotel par, post looking on
Ursula Keese enjoys meeting the locals at the Poochera Hotel in rural South Australia.(Supplied: Ursula and Andrew Keese)

“So many of them show you around the pub and take you on a tour which is really nice.

“They say ‘We’ve been wondering when you’d come into our pub’.”

They photograph the bars and features of the pub.

“If there’s stunning facades we get that and then all of the inside of the pub … just so people can see what does the pub look like and what does it offer.”

A drink at each watering hole

The couple have at least a drink at the pub, and try the local drops whenever they are available.

“We’ll order local, certainly anything different on tap or if they’ve got a local gin or a local wine,” Mr Keese said.

“We try and change it up so we’re always ordering something local because we went through outback Queensland for about three months and you could only get XXXX and Great Northern and I’ll drink them, but it was certainly a stretch,” he said.

Man behind a bar filled with memorabilia on shelves and ceiling
The couple enjoy exploring Australia’s most remote and quirky pubs and take a photo of the bar person who serves them.(Supplied: Andrew and Ursula Keese)

Most of their favorite pubs were older pubs that had character on the outside and characters on the bar stools inside.

“The beautiful old country pubs, they’ve just got a different feel and the locals they’ll always welcome you especially in the old pubs.

“It’s rare that you walk in and people don’t go ‘g’day, how ya going?'”

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