News

Kangaroo Ground Community Meeting

When I was elected to council, I committed to holding community meetings across Sugarloaf Ward. Unfortunately, until recently, COVID has had other plans.

Cr Frances Eyre and I held a community meeting in Research earlier in the year and it was a fantastic success. We got some great feedback from the community.

As we finally emerge from lockdown, it's time to follow through with the other communities across my ward and I'm excited to announce that I'll be holding my next community meeting in Kangaroo Ground.

Ideas on the War Memorial Park? The old landfill site? Trails? Internet? Something else?

What’s not working? What’s missing? What do you love?

Pop in to meet me and officers from Nillumbik Shire Council to let us know your thoughts.

Meet us for chat and have your say.

	Date:	Wednesday 1 December 2021
	Time:	7pm
	Where:	Kangaroo Ground Incident Control Centre

Can’t make it? You're always welcome to contact me at ben.ramcharan@nillumbik.vic.gov.au or on 0476 175 359.

Planning ahead

It's been exciting to see some great progress on council. The work we're doing right now will set the scene for our work over the next four years and it looks like we'll be very busy!

The blueprints of our Council

The Community Vision and Council Plan have been drafted and we are taking submissions from the community now on these critical documents. The Vision describes where our community wants us to be in 20 years and the Plan outlines how we plan to work towards that vision over the next 4 years. Everything that we do as a council over this 4-year term will be guided by the Council Plan. They are effectively the blueprints of our shire.

Click here now to have your say on these important documents.

Research toilets

Council has began consulting with traders at Research Shops before commencing the much-needed replacement of the toilet block. The new toilets will be more welcoming, with some important safety improvements. Down the track, we will also be commissioning some public artwork on the new toilet block and we look forward to involving the community in this.

Fill dumping in our Green Wedge

The community have spoken. 80% of respondents supported stronger controls to limit the dumping of fill in our Green Wedge areas and we are amending our planning scheme to require a permit if more than 100 cubic metres of fill are to be imported.

The next step is to appoint a planning panel. The panel will consider all submissions that were made and make a recommendation to council so we can proceed with implementing this important control.

Flying the rainbow flag

On Tuesday 27 July, Council voted unanimously to install two new flagpoles at the council offices. The Torres Straight flag will fly permanently from one of the poles and the other pole will be used to fly the Rainbow and Trans Flags on days of significance to LGBTIQA+ people.

There is still a lot more work to do and while this may be a small gesture, it's an important step and sends a message to all of our LGBTIQA+ residents that you are accepted, valued and welcome in Nillumbik.

Bushfire resilience

Bushfire Resilience Inc. are running a series of webinars to help you get ready for the fire season. Go to https://bushfireresilience.org.au/promo/ for more information.

Community meetings

With any luck, COVID permitting, I'm planning to resume my community meetings shortly. Cr Frances Eyre and I had a fantastic time meeting the community in Research and I look forward to meeting the community in other areas going forwards. Stay tuned for details of my next meeting.

Kangaroo Ground War Memorial Park and Tower

Council is developing a Management Plan for the Kangaroo Ground War Memorial Park. The Management Plan will help us protect and maintain this special community asset long into the future. We're currently in discussions with the major stakeholders in the community and will soon move on to public community consultation. Stay tuned to have your say!

Roads across Sugarloaf Ward

After many months of conversations with Council's infrastructure team, I have a meeting arranged with the Department of Transport next month to discuss road safety issues in our area. I'll be pushing for improved safety measures for drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and wildlife in known road safety hotspots. I will also make it clear to the Department that they need to listen carefully to the community before making any major changes to our roads.

Roads in North Warrandyte

Funding from the Getting to School Safely program has allowed us to build a new footpath at the bottom of Research-Warrandyte Road in North Warrandyte. This is the first step in a long list of safety improvements that need to be done on that road.

While the new footpath is a fantastic step forward, we are well aware that more needs to be done and I have confirmed with our infrastructure team that there are plans to extend the footpath further when funding is available.

Roads in Research

We are aware of a wide range of road issues in Eltham and Research and council officers are working on getting these addressed. This includes Cassels Road, Margaret Street, Allendale Road, Ingams Road, Zig Zag Road, Maroong Drive and Leane Drive. Go here to see regular updates on what's being done.

We're also very aware of the issues with parking at the Research Shopping Strip. Cr Frances Eyre and I will be discussing this with council officers shortly and pushing for a solution to this issue which we know is having a huge impact on both residents and traders in Research.