An extensive plan is aiming to save an historic building in Skipton which has been struck by at least six major floods.
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The historic dwelling at 31 Montgomery Street, built circa 1860, was one of the first buildings in the settlement.
Through the years it has housed Parson's Bootmakers and a second school run by William Parsons, Wilkies' General Store and Drapery, Danny O'Connell's Hairdressing, tobacconist and mixed business and McDonalds Court House Store.
But it's located adjacent to Mount Emu Creek and been struck by at least six major floods, which each saw about 449mm of water above floor level.
It was last struck by the October 2022 floods when the creek overflowed. Shops on the lower end of Montgomery Street (the main commercial centre), including the supermarket, chemist, hotel, garage, art gallery and pottery were flooded, along with 30 residential properties.
Flood depths exceeded one-and-a-half metres in some properties.
But a proposal lodged with Corangamite Shire aims to protect the property against future natural disasters.
It plans to replace and raise the existing timber flooring in the bluestone section of the dwelling with a concrete floor.
It also proposes to construct a new wing for the existing dwelling to connect directly to the remaining bluestone portion.
