Shire of Harvey endorses Community Precinct Master Plan, with first-phase construction to start in 2023

The brand new community precinct planned for Harvey’s town centre reached a major milestone last week, with a designer appointed to complete its final concept. After amending its original plan due to results from a contentious consultation process, the Shire of Harvey’s Community Precinct is now in the hands of Perth-based Christou Design Group, which will guide the next phase of the development. The project is earmarked within the boundaries of Gibb, Young and Becher streets and Uduc Road and is set to host an array of new buildings as well as repurpose existing facilities. During an ordinary council meeting in December 2021 Shire of Harvey councillors voted in favour of completing key stages of the master plan. Presented to the council in June 2021 — and followed by a six-week consultation process —the draft Master Plan for the Harvey Community Precinct was met with scrutiny from the community, with one local MP even labelling the plans too “extravagant”. Further discussions at a November councillor workshop led to the confirmation of amendments soon to be implemented into the plan, pushing it to a finalised design and brief stage followed by a design development and documentation stage. Shire of Harvey president Paul Gillett said the Harvey community precinct master plan was a dynamic long term planning document and the current master plan allowed for flexibility for all areas to be amended during the concept and brief stage. “This is an ever-evolving document which is used as a guide for the staged development of the site,” he said. Areas discussed in the redevelopment of the plan were the plan’s purpose, the precinct’s amenities and the project’s next steps. Mr Gillett said the precinct was designed to cater for the Shire’s current and future needs, as well as the needs of “our children and grandchildren.” Along with placing Christou Design Group at the helm, councillors endorsed the establishment of a Harvey Precinct Community Reference Group scheduled to open for keen community members this month.