The Orange Podcast

Send us Fan Mail The creation of a network of mountain bike trails on Mount Canobolas offers a good opportunity to restore the mountain environment. The latest stage of work by a team of environmental consultants has revealed the extent of weed infestation on the mountain. In this week's episode we hear from  a track designer about the sheer scale of  blackberries he's found, and a staff...

Send us Fan Mail Orange City Council wants to put a new water pipe deep under a busy road. But how do you install a new pipe without digging up the road? Also,  who finds the weird things that get flushed down our toilets? We find out as we learn why the Council is spending seven million dollars on an upgrade to our sewage treatment plant. And exactly how many people turned out to the Council&apos...

Send us Fan Mail Work is about to get under way on a major upgrade of a CBD block of Lords Place and Byng Streets. There'll be potential impacts for businesses in the neighbourhood, so operators came together with the hands-on contractors this week to find out the timetable of what will happen when.

Send us Fan Mail There's been some tweaks to the plans to upgrade McNamara St, Lords Place and Byng St, as part of Orange City Council FutureCity upgrade. There's less trees in but more parking spaces in McNamara St, and the Lords Place taxi rank will stay in its original location. Also this week, why Orange City Council's CEO believes the annual budget is actually a very important...

Send us Fan Mail A new plan is being floated to transform Orange's favourite picnic spot, Lake Canobolas. Find out what's happening for kids at Orange City Library during the school holidays, and we delver a wrap of where a whole batch of sites that are in a state of transition, are up to.

Send us Fan Mail While heavy rain has wreaked havoc on the coast, in Orange extra falls have been welcomed as a boost to water storage dams which still have room for more. The week's tallies have delivered a rainfall record for March for Orange. And also, plans move ahead for an Anzac Day march and anew museum exhibition celebrates the insects that help us grow our food.

Send us Fan Mail As part of the FutureCity CBD upgrade, Orange City Council is helping the owners of heritage buildings in the CBD improve the look of the shop-fronts. The offer to subsidise the costs also comes with some free advice from a heritage expert. Also this week, there's been a lot of interest in the finaltion of a film archive from a local TV station to the Orange Regional Museum....

Send us Fan Mail A former mayor of Leichardt Council in Sydney has led a seminar in Orange aimed at helping local residents decide if they want to stand for council in this year's local government election in September. And, a final year science student from Sydney University starts work to help Orange City Council get the bugs which process our waste water (sewage) working harder.

Send us Fan Mail There’s been some positive responses from business operators along McNamarra Street and Lords Place, after this week’s council meeting gave the go ahead for the first of the CBD upgrade plans to happen. And two information sessions have been time-tabled to help locals decide if they want to run as a candidate in this September's local council elections.

Send us Fan Mail Six months out from the next local council election , Orange City Council is planning two info sessions to help potential candidates decide if they want to throw their hat into the ring. And a community gathering of 160 people hears the latest on how mountain bike tracks could be built to minimise the impact on environmentally-sensitive areas on Mt Canobolas. 

Send us Fan Mail Find out more about the latest plans for Orange's CBD upgrade, from the staff member who's helping to keep shop-keepers in touch with those changes. And, why taking a risk with public art is worthwhile.  

Send us Fan Mail Orange's once-a-year bulky waste pick-up continues on with residents taking advantage of the free collection service right across the city. Also, Council's Sport and Recreation Committee Chair prepares to welcome a special bunch of elite athletes to town. And, Council's CEO David Waddell wraps up the week that was.

Send us Fan Mail A proposal to build a new direction in multi-storey apartment living in Orange is making progress. Planning & Development Director Mark Hodges explains how a planning tool called a DCP works and how it will enable apartments alongside the new DPI headquarters.  Plus,  Council CEO David Waddell outlines plans for the year ahead including more on the Future City CBD upgrade, a C...

Send us Fan Mail It's time for our 'Summer Series' to enjoy some of our best interviews of 2020. This week: Australia's newest citizens take their vows How to decide which neighbourhoods get a new fooptpath Orange's new cricket centre opens its doors.

Send us Fan Mail It's time for our 'Summer Series' to enjoy some of our best interviews of 2020. This week: Supporters of plans for a conservatorium and planetarium were excited when the long-awaited project reached the stage of having its DA lodged. And environmental scientists explore the proposal for a bike tracks on Mount Canobolas,

Send us Fan Mail It's time for our 'Summer Series' to enjoy some of our best interviews of 2020. This week: The new 'Inherit exhibition at the Orange Regional Museum finds contemporary ways to tell the stories of Orange's history.

Send us Fan Mail It's time for our 'Summer Series' to enjoy some of our best interviews of 2020. This week: New Year celebrations in Orange take a new direction a PhD student climbs trees to find our the hidden secrets of the superb parrot And Christmas Greetings from Orange Mayor Reg Kidd.

Send us Fan Mail New research is lifting the lid on what kinds of waste actually go into Orange's red, yellow and green-lidded bins. The answers are showing there's still room for improvement as we all learn to sort our waste better. It's a problem that becomes even more important in the wake of Christmas festivities which create much more waste than usual. And Orange's library...

Send us Fan Mail The first stage of seeking planning approval is under way for Orange's proposed new sporting precinct. There are are plans for a NSW Government sponsored $25 million sporting complex, but the first stage would see trees on a former golf course alongside Jack Brabham park removed.   Also in this episode, a specialist contractor has started gathering seeds from trees in the pat...

Send us Fan Mail Even in a place with a mild Summer like Orange, when it gets hot, the local community swimming pool is the place where hundreds and hundreds of people want to be. It’s a challenge to keep everyone happy, and keep the place running smoothly at the same time. And, Orange City Council wants to build mountain bike tracks on Mt Canobolas, but can tracks be built in sympathy with the be...

Send us Fan Mail Work is underway on the next stage of the southern feeder road, connecting the highway from Sydney with key locations for local health care, industry and new housing areas around south Orange. We visit the construction site for a 'first-sod-turning' event. And a new Cricket & Community Centre in Wade was opened in Orange boosting training opportunities for local spor...

Send us Fan Mail The work of a regional planning panel, located somewhere between the local council and the state planning minister was in the news this week, with the future of a former heritage hospital building hanging in the balance. This week, how the Western Regional Planning Panel helps sort disputes that are more than only local significance. Also this week, the first furry visitors for th...

Send us Fan Mail Orange City Council's Future City campaign program is much more than upgrading CBD infrastructure. It’s also about a call to artists to put up their hand to create murals and art installations.  And, preparations are under way for the first of a series of relaxed afternoon concerts, to be called Future Tunes. Among the musicians Orange City Council is funding is one performer...

Send us Fan Mail Plans to explore whether or not a network of mountain bike tracks can be built on Mount Canobolas took another step forward this week, with the appointment of an independent environmental consultant. Also this week, construction site sheds appearing on the grass at the northcourt area in Orange is the clearest sign that work is about to start on an extension to the Orange Regional...

Send us Fan Mail Orange’s newest government office block, the new Armstrong building in Prince St is about to start filling up with the first of 800 staff. The next big question is: What will happen will the old DPI building in east Orange? A new plan for the East Orange Precinct is up for discussion. And what's planned for National Recycling Week this year?