Harcourt Workshop

Chutney and Marmalade Workshop

Updated Community Action Plan

Harcourt Community Action Plan
1.       Communication
Strategy	Actions	Who will lead	Timing	Priority	Comments
a)      Promote what is happening in Harcourt to residents	Create, maintain and manage a Harcourt Progress Association newsletter and blog Regularly submit photos and articles to the Castlemaine Mail and Express	Kelly	Regularly	High	Community to feed information to Kelly for the blog. Contact people from various organisations to put information on the blog.
b)      Promote and support local businesses	Develop a “support your local businesses/ services” campaign	Donna/ Kelly	Ongoing	Medium
c)       Attract visitors to town	Develop a tourism map of Harcourt showing local attractions Develop a promotional strategy to attract visitors to Harcourt Promote the town as being family friendly	Max	3-6 months	High	Work with Neil Robins and Neil Charter from Heritage centre To update brochure Follow up with Steven Hilley regarding services map.
d)      Local Councillor to be available to talk with Harcourt residents	Have a listening post at the local shop regularly Local councillor to attend Harcourt Progress Group meetings	Craig	Once every three months	Medium
2.       Arts, Crafts, Culture, Events
Strategy	Actions	Who will lead	Timing	Priority	Comments
a)      Support and sustain existing community events and activities	Assist with the promotion, development and running of the Applefest	Donna/David	6-12 months	Medium	Look at other festivals, possibility to broaden it to include food and wine Suggest some new ideas to Applefest committee Open Air cinema in conjunction with Applefest meetings Possible combined brainstorming session
b)      Promote new community events and activities	Develop and promote a Food and Wine Trail for the Harcourt district	Kelly			Follow up with Katie Finlay regarding information on current food and wine trail
3.       Sustainability and Skills
Strategy	Actions	Who will lead	Timing	Priority	Comments
a)      Improving and protecting local landscapes	Explore the feasibility of community management of the Oak Forest Improvement of the area along the creek to create a walk way Promote protection of the environment on Mount Alexander and in the surrounding area, also the development of walking trails	David/ Max	12-18 months	Medium	Oak forest could be useful for community events Can Heritage Victoria help? Walking track – liaise with council
b)      Attract, recognise and retain volunteers to support community initiatives	Create a pool of volunteers from the community
4.       Facilities and Services
Strategy	Actions	Who will lead	Timing	Priority	Comments
a)      Increase access to sustainable transport options	Lobby to open the station Lobby to increase the bus service to  and from Harcourt			High
b)      Identify and support activities for young people	Set up a group to facilitate support for young people, particularly those at risk and explore opportunities to create activities and venues within Harcourt for their use.
c)       Identify and create an appropriate commercial zone
d)      Primary school as a community venue	Use the primary school facilities and resources as a venue for community  and educational activities in Harcourt
e)      Recreational facilities	Improve the facilities in central Harcourt – eg – barbecue, lighting, toilets Provide a fenced playground Make Harcourt a destination for cyclists and cycling events Ensure the long term viability of the Harcourt Pool
f)       Create a permanent performance space in James Park	Work with local organisations to lobby council to get this done.  Also consider the use of volunteer labour to assist with the work Investigate the possibility of applying for a regional arts grant to construct this.  Apply if appropriate.
g)      Improve the drainage in James park	Work with local organisations to lobby council to get this done.  Also consider the use of volunteer labour to assist with the work
h)      Create a multi purpose community hub in central Harcourt	Approach council to assist with the purchase of an existing building in Harcourt			High
5.       Beautification
Strategy	Actions	Who will lead	Timing	Priority	Comments
a)      Promote walking tracks and trails	Create a resource which provides information on the tracks and trails in the Harcourt area
b)      Town Centre	Explore and develop ways to create a town centre				Streetscape – need to lobby and survey the community for a more suitable landscape
c)       Visual Statement	Create a visual statement along the Freeway and in the town centre to draw people into Harcourt