Council
19 December, 2025
Council places bypass on the table
THE Horsham Rural City Council moved a successful motion at its December 15 meeting to commence a fresh approach to planning a highway bypass of the Horsham urban area in early 2026.
Mayor Brian Klowss announced on Tuesday that the council had approved a project plan.
"It's a consideration of a bypass which aims to provide a linking route around Horsham for the
Western, Henty, and Wimmera Highways," he said.
"Council is not about to start building a bypass, but we are taking a fresh look at a bypass and asking the community to be involved in a plan, to put their ideas on the table so we can begin a fresh approach to a long-overdue project.
“The subject of a bypass for Horsham has been a challenge for the Horsham community for many decades, but we must move now; with an expected rise in heavy vehicle movements through Horsham in the coming years, this council must address it now.
"I had to say we didn't have one.
“One of the key priorities from our new council Plan is to confirm a preferred route for the Horsham bypass, and we recognise that this can only be achieved with a strong community involvement in this decision.
“We also recognise that understanding the things the community values, and how they might be impacted by a bypass, needs to be considered first before the engineering aspects can be planned.”
Cr Klowss said one of the first conversations he had with a government official after he was elected in 2024 began with the official asking what the council's plans were for a bypass.
He said he realised then how important the plan was to the municipality's overall progress.
Cr Cam McDonald said, "It's been a long time coming, but this time will be different, we will bring the community on board”.
"However, not everyone will be happy about it, but our shoulders are big enough, and it is a real need for this community," he said.
"With promises that we'll be getting mining and renewable projects in the area, we can only expect the need to be greater for a bypass with the additional heavy vehicles that will be travelling through Horsham."
He added that the council could not adopt a master plan for the airport without this move.
Cr Rebekah Sluggett agreed with Cr McDonald but also acknowledged the decades of discussion that had not resulted in the project getting off the ground.
"It's quite clear to me this is a huge project," she said.
"But we need to get the community on board so that we can go to the State government with that support."
A Community Reference Group will be created to inform the council on the community’s views on a bypass.
Crs Klowss, O'Loughlin and Angela Munn will be council representatives on the CRS Group.
Cr Klowss said that early in 2026, the council would seek expressions of interest from community members and relevant stakeholders to participate in the community reference group to guide the project.
"We will then be seeking submissions from the community on the aspects of their homes, properties, livelihoods, and neighbourhoods that they value, and which may be impacted by a bypass,” he said.
Cr Munn said she accepted that the bypass was needed, but also realised there would be heartache for some people whose properties could be impacted by the project.
"Since the bypass was first talked about decades ago, there has been considerable expansion in our residential and commercial building areas, and that will impact any plan that was originally discussed, and more may be impacted," she said.
"That being said, it is necessary, so I'd encourage the community to get on board so we can make the best decision for the community."
Cr Todd Wilson encouraged the community to participate in the discussion.
The mayor said that for a project to have been discussed in the 1940s and still not be any further advanced meant this council needed to begin work on a plan that was appropriate and accepted by the community.
"With more than 3000 heavy vehicles travelling through Horsham daily, and that number increasing by the day, we cannot wait any longer to begin this process," he said.
"We have manufacturing increasing at Dooen, the Donald Mine getting started, and renewables nearby; we can only expect that heavy vehicle traffic will increase in the near future.
“We are starting this project with a blank canvas – we don’t have a preferred route for a bypass.”
Councillor groups have been informed that they need to decide on a preferred route on behalf of the community before the Government can even consider a bypass project for the municipality.
The councillors received a presentation on the Horsham Alternative Truck Route study early in 2025.
Subsequently, a further briefing was presented to councillors, a compilation of previous studies relating to consideration of a Horsham Bypass, as background to councillors’ consideration of this matter.
A report to the September 1, 2025, councillor briefing presented a broad approach to how the council might develop a position in relation to a bypass or truck route.
A key outcome of that discussion was the recognition of the importance of community engagement in this process.
A subsequent briefing on October 20, 2025, considered an early draft of a project plan for this purpose.
“The project will be informed of the previous studies that have been undertaken, but council does not yet have a position in relation to the outcomes of any of those," Cr Klowss said.
“All previous studies will be available for reference by the community and our community reference group members."
The council approved $80,000 in the 2026-27 budget to conduct the specialist evaluation of route options as outlined in the project plan.
