13 March 2025

In this newsletter – Plan Harcourt, drought resilience funding, revegetation assistance, new event flagpoles and a free finance crime community session.

Commercial zoning for Harcourt town centre

Council’s strategic plan for Harcourt - Plan Harcourt - is now complete, and rezones the town centre to a commercial zoning. Feedback from the community has consistently highlighted the need to identify and create an appropriate commercial zone. Providing the town centre with its own commercial zoning facilitates this, and over the long term will direct future commercial uses into the defined town centre area and create sustainable growth for Harcourt.

In addition, by rezoning the land that surrounds the new Commercial Zone 1 from Township Zone to Neighbourhood Residential Zone, a clear land use signal is made to encourage and direct commercial uses to ‘set up shop’ within the defined town centre.  

The Harcourt town centre area includes pedestrian crossings near Stanley Park, landscaping in the median and along the highway, and threshold treatments including sculptures around the town centre. There is a general store, a hospitality business, petrol station and post office in the area.

The purpose of the Commercial 1 Zone is:

• To create vibrant mixed use commercial centres for retail, office, business, entertainment and community uses
• To provide for residential uses at densities complementary to the role and scale of the commercial centre.

The zone allows for a large number of different types of land uses. For instance, a child care centre, cinema, offices, retail premises, supermarket and much more. 

Grow Towards Zero - cultivating community carbon in Central Victoria

Grow Towards Zero is an exciting opportunity for local landholders. This is an initiative of The North Central Catchment Management Authority and councils, aiming to restore valuable habitat in our region through targeted planting. 

Expressions of interest (EOI) are now open for local landholders who want to have trees planted on their property to offset local carbon emissions and take on-ground climate change action. Landholders do not need to provide a financial contribution to set up the sites.

• Attract wildlife
• Enhance your property's appearance
• Reduce soil erosion
• Improve soil health
• Boost water quality

Applications close for Round 1 on 31 March 2025.

Loddon Campaspe Drought Resilience Program - funding available

Grants are available for community organisations and farmer groups to deliver projects that address key actions identified for regional drought resilience.

The North Central Catchment Management Authority will coordinate and deliver the Regional Drought Resilience Planning (RDRP) Program for the Campaspe region. This program will support nine regions in Victoria to prepare place-based, community-led Regional Drought Resilience Plans (RDR Plans). These plans inform future priorities and specific actions to support agricultural communities and industries to build greater resilience to drought.  You can read the Loddon Campaspe Drought Resilience Plan here.

There are two-tiered grant options available for projects:

• up to $10,000 (ex gst)
• up to $50,000 (ex gst) 

Activities must be completed by 30 November 2025. 

Applications close 5:00pm 13 April 2025. 

Implementation Grants are provided through funding from the Commonwealth Government’s Future Drought Fund and the Victorian State Government. 

If you have any questions or comments, please contact Jacqui Knee on 0400 054 690 or at LCDroughtResilience@nccma.vic.gov.au 

New flagpoles around town

Ten new event flagpoles have been erected in three locations in the shire. 

• Four in Western Reserve, on Barker St, near the skatepark.
• Four on the north side of Castlemaine, on the Midland Hwy.
• Two on Lyons St in Newstead, outside the Rural Transaction Centre.

These poles have been installed to allow event organisers to highlight significant events in the region and also to allow Council to display flags for shire-wide celebrations like Christmas. Our Events Team manages the bookings and will provide you with guidelines.

Financial crime - community session

If you are concerned about scams, come to a free community session with Jack Kennedy from Bendigo Bank’s Financial Crime Risk Department and Lyn Hartley from Community Bank Maldon. They will share insights on the importance of online safety and how to identify and prevent scams. You don't have to be a bank customer to attend.

RSVP for catering purposes. Call 03 5475 1747 or click on the button to email below.

📍 Location: Maldon Neighbourhood Centre, 1 Church St Maldon VIC 3463
📅 Date: Thursday 27 March 2025
⏰ Time: 5:00 - 6:00pm
💵 Cost: Free

Business Renewables Buying Group information session

Would your business like access to low-cost renewable energy? ​The Business Renewables Buying Group is a local government-led procurement process for medium to large electricity consumers to enter into renewable energy Power Purchase Agreements.

Save time and money by coming together with like-minded businesses to access the benefits of group buying and long-term deals. This online information session will introduce you to the process of how to scale up your buying power whilst cutting complexity.

📅 Date: Tuesday 25 March 2025
⏰ Time: 11.00am - 12.00pm

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Mount Alexander Shire Council
email: business@mountalexander.vic.gov.au  web: www.mountalexander.vic.gov.au

Mount Alexander Shire Council acknowledges that the traditional custodians of this
land, the Dja Dja Wurrung and Taungurung peoples, proudly survive. We acknowledge their continued practice of custom and their close cultural, spiritual, physical, social, historical and economic relationship with the land and waters that make up
their country, which includes Mount Alexander Shire.