Council & Business
27 July, 2023
Aerodrome business case receives council approval
The Central Goldfields Shire Council has given the tick of approval to the Maryborough Aerodrome Business Case, with $220,000 in investments coming in the next two years and an ongoing advisory group to be appointed. At this week’s ordinary...
The Central Goldfields Shire Council has given the tick of approval to the Maryborough Aerodrome Business Case, with $220,000 in investments coming in the next two years and an ongoing advisory group to be appointed.
At this week’s ordinary council meeting, councillors moved to approve the business case, thank the Maryborough Aerodrome Taskforce group for their work over the last two years, begin the process to establish an advisory group and appoint councillor Geoff Lovett as its chair.
It marks the culmination of several years of work from the council, who in December 2020 raised the aerodrome’s future as urgent business, resolving to allocate funds for a business plan and establish a taskforce, which has been meeting since September 2021.
Eight major headings capture the key outcomes identified in the consulting exercise undertaken as part of the business plan and cover land use, general aviation trends in Victoria, a review of other aerodromes, current capability of the Maryborough Aerodrome, its operating budget, lease holdings, emergency management and obstacle limitation surfaces.
Speaking during Tuesday’s council meeting, councillor Chris Meddows-Taylor said the business plan and advisory group recognised council’s commitment to the aerodrome.
“When the elected council came back there had been some concern in the community that council had perhaps overlooked the aerodrome and that it was on its way out,” he said.
“The administrators took the difficult decision to end the certification of the aerodrome and it became an ALA (aircraft landing area), a landing strip without certification, which saved a lot of cost but with that came community anxiety about whether that was a good decision.
“Council signalled from the very start it was committed to the future of the aerodrome.
“There is a clear view with this documentation that as a council, we should ensure the aerodrome is in working order.”
According to the documentation presented at the council meeting, the aerodrome will have received $340,000 in investments by the end of the 2024/25 financial year.
This includes the $120,000 raised through community funding for the Maryborough Aeromedical Transfer Station, as well as a further $220,000 from council to improve the safety of operations at the aerodrome and its emergency services capability, including projects relating to kangaroo fencing, backup power and mains water.