Plan for burn-off ban

BURNING off on Sundays could soon be banned if a draft council law is approved.
The Shire of Yarra Ranges has agreed to put its draft local law for open air burning on public display for the next five weeks.
If the law is adopted it could spell the end to Sunday burn-offs.
This comes after the council released a discussion paper in July outlining issues and possible conditions for inclusion in the new open air burning law.
According to the council, the majority of people responding to the discussion paper supported the introduction of a smoke free Sunday.
The draft law also seeks to ban burning off in residential bushland areas during the months of June and July. The council believes that the ban would go a long way towards addressing community concerns about amenity and health issues, particularly in the Dandenongs. It is also believed that during June and July the weather conditions are not suitable for burning off because of a lack of wind, dampness and rainfall, which can lead to high levels of smoke when burning off.
The draft law also calls for the increase of burning off days in residential bushland areas from two to four.
Following consultation with residents, the council decided to increase the number of burning-off days as a trade off for the proposed June-July ban. The council says residents have complained that only being able to burn off on Thursdays and Saturdays was inadequate.
In a compromise the council is proposing that residents will be able to burn-off on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday to provide a sufficient offset for the June-July ban.
The council will now put the draft on display for the next five weeks for public discussion.