Plan Harcourt Advocacy

Harcourt Valley Landcare has been working with the Mount Alexander Shire Council since 2020 to protect the Harcourt Valley’s native plants, animals and their habitat during a planning scheme amendment that will guide significant proposed development in Harcourt.

The goal of our work advocating for the natural environment is to ensure that the proposed development of our town is done in a way that places biodiversity protection and our nature-loving lifestyle at the heart of Harcourt.

In June 2023, we were thrilled to hear that our call for a thorough, on-ground survey of our valley’s native plants, animals and their habitat was heard and that Stage 2 of a biodiversity audit will take place. This second stage follows the Stage 1 report commissioned by the State government’s Regional Planning Hub, which recommended that further work is needed to identify areas in the town with higher biodiversity so that development can occur away from these areas.

The announcement that Stage 2 of the audit will go ahead is fantastic news for the native animals and plants of our valley including our much-loved Brush-tailed Phascogale. The Stage 2 audit was put to tender in Aug/Sept 2023 and the Council tell us the audit will begin soon.

References:

Stage 1 biodiversity report, completed in June 2023:

Stage-1-strategic-level-biodiversity-assessment.pdf (mountalexander.vic.gov.au)

Mt Alexander Shire Council updates on Plan Harcourt: https://www.mountalexander.vic.gov.au/Building-and-Planning/Planning-for-the-future/Strategic-planning-projects/Plan-Harcourt#section-6

Contact us if you’d like to be involved in ensuring that development in Harcourt in a way that places biodiversity protection and our nature-loving lifestyle at the heart of our town.