There was something stinky going on in Wangaratta in the 1980s, literally.
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This was the opening of the sausage factory, which would go onto become Mackay Casings as it is now known, and emitted some very unpleasant odours.
Wangaratta Council this week resolved to introduce a one-kilometre "buffer zone" around the factory it says is needed to protect the operation of Mackay Casings and Wangaratta Saleyards.
Future developments within that zone in South Wangaratta with a possible "sensitive use" will have to have a planning application approved by the council.
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There were 11 submissions to the council's plan, including from Goulburn Ovens TAFE, which has land within the buffer zone and stated that the council went further than what was recommended by the Environmental Protection Authority.
The matter went to a Victorian government panel, which stated that with minor changes, the buffer zone was "strategically justified".
Ray and Rhonda Stamp, who own property in the buffer zone, asked a question of councillors at this week's council meeting. "If Mackay Casings are meeting their obligations, why should we bear the costs associated with an odour assessment and the potential rejection of a planning permit to prove our land is not affected by their industry?" they said.
But the changes were accepted unanimously.
Cr Ken Clarke still remembers the smell that came from the factory in the 80s.
"The odours that we received in the city in those years were something terrible," he said.
"They weren't able to put buffer zones in then, they've got them now and I think it's a great thing to save us from odours that we don't want."