CONSTRUCTION of the new Stroud SES building will begin this week. The contract was awarded to Precise Build and is expected to take 12 months to complete. The existing facility in Booral was seen as insufficient to meet the needs of the volunteers and to store their equipment. The new facility, conveniently located in Stroud, […]

THE state’s peak farm body says Newcastle and the Hunter Valley have a golden opportunity to build a strong future around agriculture as it transitions from coal. Last Thursday NSW Farmers Board Director Bronwyn Petrie launched “Beyond Coal: New Growth for Newcastle and the Hunter”, a discussion paper which laid out how the region could […]

WATER Night is on again in 2025 and households across the MidCoast are being encouraged to get involved in the awareness-raising event. Each year, Water Night asks Australians to turn off their taps between 5pm-10pm on Thursday 23 October to highlight just how regularly and mindlessly people reach for their taps, and in the process, […]

BUTLER Building won the pinnacle award at the 2025 HIA Hunter Housing and Kitchen & Bathrooms Awards, being presented the HIA Hunter Home of the Year award for a project described as “nothing short of a masterpiece”. The Awards were announced on 18 October in front of a capacity audience of industry leaders and peers […]

The newly renovated Stroud Church. The newly renovated Stroud Church. FORMER ABC weather presenter Graham Creed and his partner Bridgit English have given one of Stroud’s most treasured landmarks a new lease on life, transforming the 1887-built St James Presbyterian Church into a striking blend of heritage and contemporary design. The couple purchased the deconsecrated […]

DIRECT seasonal flights will launch between Newcastle and Hobart, connecting the two cities for the first time. Served by Jetstar’s Airbus A320, the new service will start on 2 December 2025 and run three times a week – every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday – until 21 April 2026. The seasonal flights will return each summer […]

TRANSPORT for NSW is leading a “once-in-a-generation” review of the Roads Act 1993 and is seeking input from councils, community members, peak bodies and industry experts about how the legislation should be reformed. “The aim is to create a more modern, flexible and easy-to-use law that can help enable NSW Government initiatives such as housing […]

MIDCOAST Councillors and senior staff are heading back out to visit 15 communities across October and November. Mayor Claire Pontin said everybody is welcome to attend a Community Conversation, whether they wish to simply listen, ask questions or chat with a senior staff member or Councillor. “We’ll talk to you about plans and projects across […]

FARMERS and rural landholders can now register to use Farm Firefighting Vehicles (FFVs) to respond to emergency bushfires near their property. On Wednesday the NSW Government launched a conditional registration scheme to enable typically unregistered FFVs to be used legally and under the protection of insurance. FFVs are commonly small trucks, utes or trailers with […]

The Raising of the Flags ceremony was attended by local politicians and NSW Premier Chris Minns. NSW Premier Chris Minns shaking hands with Hunter SLS Nipper Mason Overton AS the weather heats up and locals prepare to enjoy another blissful summer, Hunter Surf Life Saving welcomed another season with its annual Raising of the Flags […]