ESTABLISHED 1891 Thursday, August 7, 2025
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BELOVED TRADITION AT RISK
CENTREPIECE OF TRUNDLE SHOWGROUND Matthew and Luke Watt, Will Bolam and Blake Ridges were cooking up a storm in the new Trundle Showground kitchen at the Trundle Back In Time event in March, and raising money for the Trundle Children’s Centre while they were at it. STORY PAGE 4
Help keep Red Cross tea room doors open STORY PAGE 3
Big plans for town’s east Thousands of new homes on the horizon with housing master plan in the works Parkes Shire Council has secured a grant to prepare a future housing master plan for East Parkes, laying the groundwork for more than 3400 new homes. The council was successful in round three of the NSW Government’s highly competitive Regional Housing Strategic Planning Fund, receiving $185,799 for the plan that
includes a servicing strategy. The fund supports regional councils to accelerate the delivery of strategic planning projects that enhance housing supply, affordability, diversity, and resilience across NSW. Council has identified the East Parkes residential area as a key growth precinct in its newly updated
Parkes Shire Housing Strategy 2025, which was also funded by a $150,000 grant under round two of the same program. That project incorporated updated flood modelling, capturing the impacts of the 2022 flood event, to ensure accurate and future-focused land use planning. The master plan is expected to be completed by
mid-2026 and will include: • An infrastructure servicing plan covering wastewater, potable water, stormwater drainage, electricity and natural assets. • A staging plan for future development. • Concept designs to accommodate up to 3480 new dwellings. Parkes Shire Mayor Neil Westcott has welcomed
the announcement and what it will mean for the community. “This is an exciting time for Parkes Shire - as more people look beyond the cities to live, we are seeing increased migration to the regions that is fuelling growth,” he said. “Coupled with the significant industry expansion and job creation associated with the trans-
formational Parkes Special Activation Precinct (SAP), we can expect our community to continue to grow. “These NSW government-funded strategic planning projects place Council in a strong position to carefully and sustainably manage that growth.” Council’s acting director
7 DAYS A WEEK 22-36 Parkes Road, Forbes (Next door to Bunnings)
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