Town wins right to burn

By Paul Dunlop
BUNYIP residents have won the right to burn off on their properties in the lead up to a fire season.
People living in the township, particularly around Nash Road, have successfully lobbied Cardinia Shire Council for permission to burn off in the open air as part of fire prevention works.
Councillors at their 12 December meeting agreed to amend the local law controlling open air burning in the shire.
The move gives residents of Bunyip and Garfield similar rights to those already in place for residents in the townships of Emerald, Cockatoo and Upper Beaconsfield.
Council’s law prohibits open air burning on properties in an ‘urban area’ defined as any area zoned residential one, industrial, commercial or mixed use.
But an exemption is allowed for urban area properties in townships included in the bush fire prone declared area of the municipality.
Up to 30 Bunyip residents and one Garfield resident wrote submissions to the council when its newlook local laws were recently put on public display.
Bunyip Ward councillor Bill Pearson said the townships of Bunyip and Garfield should be included among towns able to undertake open air burning in the lead up to a fire season. “The CFA supports continued limited burning off on properties,” Cr Pearson said.
He said there was no green refuse pickup in the area, meaning residents had few other options in terms of disposing of potentially flammable materials.