The town at the centre of Australia’s biggest manhunt is preparing to return to a sense of normalcy as police lift movement restrictions in the area.

A strong police presence in Porepunkah and surrounding areas in the Victorian High Country, including Myrtleford and Bright, is expected to continue as authorities enter their third week in search of accused cop killer Dezi Freeman.

Freeman, 56, is accused of fatally shooting policemen Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart-Hottart at a property in Porepunkah, about 300 kilometres north-east of Melbourne, on August 26 before escaping into bushland.

On Sunday, police lifted travel warnings in the area, allowing the community to return to normal ahead of school holidays.

But nearby Mount Buffalo National Park will remain closed.

Acting Deputy Commissioner Russell Barrett said lifting some restrictions was a “difficult decision to make”, but it was important to find a balance between the need to find Freeman and the needs of the local community.

“We’re incredibly conscious of the impact the operation has on the local community and we’re talking to them about that all the time,” he said on Sunday.

“It’s really important for us to understand if they see anything unusual when they return. Really important for us to know immediately if a burglary has occurred at a house that’s normally vacant.”

Locals celebrated the news, with the local chamber of commerce declaring the area open for business.

“I think it certainly lifts the shackles off the tourist crowd that we’ve been missing over the last few weeks,” Bright and district Chamber of Commerce president Marcus Warner said.

“We’re ready to go. We’re open for business and there’s plenty of vacancies.”

Warner said the chamber was meeting regularly with police and wanted the national park also reopened as soon as possible.

The decision came days after Victoria Police conducted the largest tactical police operation in Australia’s history, with more than 125 specialist police called in to join the search from interstate and New Zealand.

They have refused to say whether the search uncovered any sign of Freeman or evidence that he had been in the area since the shootings.

Victoria Police previously offered a $1 million reward for information leading to his capture, the largest financial offer in the state’s history for aiding an arrest.

-AAP