Annual roadside slashing program
Published on 29 October 2026
Council will soon commence its annual roadside slashing program, which generally runs from after the Melbourne Cup weekend through to the end of year closure.
The program covers approximately 450 km of Council’s sealed rural road network outside townships. Please note that roadside slashing is not undertaken across all rural roads or road reserves, and operational funding is not currently available to expand the existing slashing network.
The primary purpose of the program is to improve roadside sightlines and road safety, while also providing fire prevention benefits.
On roads included in the program, Council generally undertakes two slashing cuts (approximately 4 metres) on each side of the road, where conditions and roadside access allow. Two Council teams operate across the Shire to deliver the program, with some areas around Creswick and Clunes also completed by a contractor.
A number of designated firebreak roads receive additional slashing in consultation with the CFA. These areas are generally slashed up to 10 metres from the road, or to the fence line where applicable.
Designated firebreak roads include:
- Smeaton Road, Clunes
- Glengower Road, Campbelltown
- Millers Road, Mollongghip
- Blampied-Kooroocheang Road, Blampied
- Blampied-Mollongghip Road, Blampied
- Daylesford-Clunes Road through the Blampied, Smeaton and Clunes areas.
Timing of the program depends on seasonal conditions. There is a relatively short window between grasses curing sufficiently for effective slashing and conditions becoming too dry during the fire danger period to safely undertake the work.
As grasses generally dry earlier in the northern and western areas of the Shire, areas around Clunes and Drummond are usually completed first, followed by areas further south, including Daylesford and Trentham.
We appreciate the community's patience while crews work their way through the programmed network.