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Vol. 17 No. 34
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Wednesday, March 4, 2015
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Rail plan analyses division
I
BY DEAN LAWSON
nvestigations into the best ways of developing Horsham’s inner-city rail corridor will start within the next few weeks with the appointment of a planning contractor. Horsham Rural City Council has appointed firm Geografia to draw up a Horsham Rail Corridor Master Plan to establish the possibilities and constraints of the strip which runs through the centre of the city. Possible uses for the area include pedestrian and cycle pathways, areas for recreational and community activity, medium density housing, community facilities and subordinate commercial activity. The council is spending $44,390 on the project, which includes a $30,000 State Government grant. Municipal leaders have long identified the east-west Horsham rail corridor as a physical and social barrier between Horsham North and the rest of the city. The rail corridor features a mix of active and inactive rail lines and several former industrial sites, including Mill Street rail-freight centre,
abandoned as a freight-handling area with the development of Wimmera Intermodal Freight Terminal at Dooen. Council community service director Angela Murphy said the plan was scheduled to be finished by the end of 2014. “It is about getting the background and researching what’s possible, achievable, what constraints, such contamination, that there are and how we can rejuvenate the area,” she said. Community facilitator Martin Bride outlined that the Master Plan would occur in stages based on funding and land availability. The report also stressed that a Horsham North Urban Design Framework specified a need to redevelop the corridor to allow it to ‘become a focus of social, cultural and recreation activity’. A Council Plan also involves a commitment to explore and advocate for the relocation of the railway line from the centre of Horsham as part of a future Western Highway bypass of the city. The council also heard at Monday night’s meeting about another project milestone – the appointment of a contractor to prepare a
planning study into a major cycling and walking trail between Wartook Valley and Zumsteins picnic ground in the northern Grampians. The council has awarded the tender to Michael Smith and Associations who will complete the study by June 30. Regional Development Victoria’s Bushfire Economic Recovery Fund has provided $120,000 and the council $9000 for the study. The study will cost $86,162.50 with a possible additional cost of $20,000 to $25,000 for a Cultural Management Plan. The plan will include information such as trail route, design and costs, management responsibilities, tourism opportunities and cultural and vegetation assessments. Ms Murphy said both planning studies would involve publication consultation. The council will start maintenance work on Horsham Aquatic Centre’s two indoor pools on March 26. The indoor pools will be closed to the public for a week, the first time they have been closed for maintenance since the centre opened in 2006, but the outdoor pool will remain open.
TRADITION: Three generations of Wedderburn farmers, the Last family, were among enthusiastic visitors at this year’s Wimmera Machinery Field Days. The Lasts are pictured looking over a CASE IH header while visiting an O’Connors display site. Pictured are, from left, top, Robbie and Aidan Last, and bottom, their grandfather Richard and father Rick. The Field Days, at Wimmera Events Centre at Longerenong near Horsham, started yesterday and continue until tomorrow. Picture: SIMON ROHDE
IN THIS ISSUE • Staking a claim on fishing contest • Sand mine concerns for lake • Anzac carving Read it online: www.theweeklyadvertiser.com.au
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