Over the decades since AIDA was formed there have been many planning applications and attempts to develop the valley for housing, a caravan park/camping ground and a sports oval. These moves to develop the valley have always been objected to by AIDA and the wider community. In 1999 the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) permitted the valley to be subdivided into three blocks, each with one housing site.
The VCAT decision was made with some strict limitations on how the blocks were to be managed and the form and location of the three permitted houses. Some significant environmental controls to protect the valley’s flora and fauna as well as the remnant vegetation in the ephemeral wetlands were also introduced. These controls are contained in binding S173 agreement between the landowners and the Surf Coast Shire and the Conservation Management Plan.
One of the blocks was bought by an AIDA member and is being revegetated with indigenous plants. Since this rewilding began in July 2019 there has been an astonishing transformation as what was horse paddocks has become a haven for indigenous flora and fauna. The growth of the trees, grasses and shrubs has created an amazing new habitat for many animals and insects with some endangered species now calling the block home. It has also created a habitat ‘bridge’ from one side of the valley to the other.
