SUMMARY This document is a summary of the Wimmera Southern Mallee Regional Growth Plan. The full plan is available at www.dtpli.vic.gov.au/regionalgrowthplans Authorised and published by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne Printed by Finsbury Green, Melbourne If you would like to receive this publication in an accessible format, please telephone 1300 366 356. This document is also available in Word format at www.dtpli.vic.gov.au/regionalgrowthplans Unless indicated otherwise, this work is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence. To view a copy of the licence, visit creativecommons.org/licences/by/3.0/au It is a condition of this Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Licence that you must give credit to the original author who is the State of Victoria. 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May 2014 CONTENTS MINISTER'S MESSAGE i WHY WE NEED A PLAN 1 STATE OF CITIES 2 SNAPSHOT OF WIMMERA SOUTHERN MALLEE 3 VISION AND PRINCIPLES FOR WIMMERA SOUTHERN MALLEE 5 ABOUT WIMMERA SOUTHERN MALLEE 6 THE REGIONAL GROWTH PLAN MAP 7 WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES? 9 LIVING IN WIMMERA SOUTHERN MALLEE 10 KEY TOWNS – FUTURE PLANS OVER THE NEXT 20-30 YEARS 11 REGIONAL ECONOMY 13 ENVIRONMENT AND HERITAGE 14 REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE 15 DELIVERING REGIONAL GROWTH 16 FURTHER READING AND INFORMATION 18 WIMMERA SOUTHERN MALLEE REGIONAL GROWTH PLAN SUMMARY MINISTER'S MESSAGE In order to accommodate this growth, provide lifestyle choice and share job opportunities, we need to become a ‘state of cities’. In developing these growth plans, councils have worked with their regional counterparts and the State Government to identify key environmental, cultural, recreational, economic, tourism and natural resources of value, which will be preserved, maintained or developed. The work has already assisted councils in providing strategic information and mapping. The plans will In 2011 the Victorian Government, through the deliver immediate outcomes, while also providing $17.2 million Regional Centres of the Future Program, a planning framework to assist rural and regional advanced work across the state to support councils, councils to plan for population growth and ensure communities and government authorities in planning long-term regional land supply. for the future growth of their regions. The regional growth plans will be key instruments The Wimmera Southern Mallee Regional Growth in helping to identify future infrastructure investment Plan is one of eight prepared across the state to help needs to support local education and health services guide a coordinated regional response to population and employment opportunities. growth and regional change over the next 30 years. I'd like to thank everyone who has contributed In the May budget I announced a commitment to the development of the Wimmera Southern of $12.3 million for regional Victoria towards the Mallee Regional Growth Plan including our local implementation of regional growth plans and government partners and the Project Steering continuation of the Rural Council Planning Flying Committee that put the plan together. I look forward Squad that plays such a valued role in assisting to the plan helping to shape a more prosperous councils with major projects, developments and future for the region. statutory planning support. Victoria’s population has been projected to grow by around three million people between 2011 and 2041. It is projected that 20 to 25 per cent of that growth will be in regional Victoria – more than double the The Hon Matthew Guy MLC amount of growth over the previous 30 years. Minister for Planning WIMMERA SOUTHERN MALLEE REGIONAL GROWTH PLAN SUMMARY i WHY WE NEED A PLAN The Wimmera Southern Mallee Regional Growth “The Wimmera Southern Mallee Plan has been developed over two years in partnership between local government and state Regional Growth Plan provides agencies and authorities. The plan covers the a vision for long-term prosperity municipalities of Hindmarsh, Horsham, Northern Grampians, West Wimmera and Yarriambiack. and sustainable growth.” Providing for growth and development throughout The Wimmera Southern Mallee Regional the Wimmera Southern Mallee will help support Growth Plan: economic development and wellbeing of the • establishes a framework for strategic land use region’s dispersed communities. and settlement planning that can sustainably accommodate growth The plan considers a range of land uses including agriculture, tourism, environmental • identifies important economic, environmental, assets, commercial and residential. It recommends social and cultural resources to be preserved, checks and balances that need to be applied when maintained or developed considering future growth. • provides direction for accommodating growth and change including: residential, employment, As areas change over time infrastructure and industrial, commercial, agriculture and other service needs also change. Long-term planning rural activities is the best way to ensure these needs are met. A regional approach to planning enables coordinated • shows which areas of land can accommodate responses across municipal borders. growth • identifies opportunities for supporting regional The plan’s key land use planning directions will be level infrastructure, providing an essential implemented through the state planning system. contribution to the long-term sustainability This will provide a regional context to guide and of the region. inform councils in planning for their municipalities and support decision making at a local level. 1 WIMMERA SOUTHERN MALLEE REGIONAL GROWTH PLAN SUMMARY StatE OF CITIES “We will maximise the growth potential of Victoria by developing a state of cities which delivers choice, opportunity and global competitiveness.” The State Government’s new metropolitan planning strategy, Plan Melbourne, provides a land use and transport plan to 2050. The regional growth plans are aligned with Plan Melbourne through the following directions. Plan Melbourne directions: 6.1. Deliver a permanent boundary around Melbourne 6.2. Rebalance Victoria’s population growth from Melbourne to rural and regional Victoria over the life of the strategy 6.3. Integrate metropolitan, peri-urban and regional planning implementation 6.4 Improve connections between cities WIMMERA SOUTHERN MALLEE REGIONAL GROWTH PLAN SUMMARY 2 SNAPSHOT OF WIMMERA SOUTHERN MALLEE The region Employment (top 5) Employment 33,900 sq km 17% More than Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing located in western Victoria 23,000 jobs extends from the Great Dividing 14% in the region Range to the South Australian border Health Care and Social Assistance and north to the Mallee 13% Just over 8811 has one main river catchment – Retail Trade jobs in Horsham Wimmera River 9% Manufacturing and over 900 one of the world’s great wheat and 7% businesses cereal growing regions Construction Living in the region Quiz questions 1. What is the largest Around 50,700 river in Victoria that people live in does not flow into the sea? the region. More than 15,000 people live 2. Where is Victoria’s in Horsham. 51,900 people oldest continuously are expected to live in the operating horse racing club? region by 2041. More than 1 million visitors each year Answers page 4 to Grampians National Park. Amazing fact Water The Murtoa Stick Shed is a beautiful The Wimmera Mallee Pipeline provides secure water to the region. The example of functional rural architecture pipeline, completed in 2010, replaced 18,000 km of inefficient earthen and is the largest rustically-built channel with 9159 km of pressurised pipeline and associated structures. structure in the world. Built in 1941, it The pipeline will save an average 103 billion litres of water per year and was used as a temporary storage for provide continuous water supply to approximately 9000 farms and 34 wheat which could not be exported townships across the Wimmera Mallee. during World War II. Images: Murtoa Stick Shed, Heritage Victoria 2011 / Climbing Agamemnon - Mt Arapiles, Larry Franklin / Wheat farming, Melissa Powell 3 WIMMERA SOUTHERN MALLEE REGIONAL GROWTH PLAN SUMMARY Tourism The Stawell Gift professional foot race, run on grass, has been held in all but four years since 1878. It is one of the world’s most famous and MT ARAPILES prestigious foot races. west of Horsham, is widely recognised as the top rock climbing destination in Australia and is of world renown. Transport Industry and business $921 million 3 standard gauge rail the gross value of agricultural production, and 9% of the total corridors connect the region Gross State Product [2008-09] to Melbourne, Portland and Adelaide $361 million Cereal crops = 40% of the annual value of cereal crop production the region’s agricultural Barley = 47% of the production in wheat, state’s production canola and pulses Attractions There are 4 major highway Many lakes and wetlands corridors within the region: including Lake Hindmarsh Western, and Lake Albacutya Wimmera, Brambuk – the National Park Apsley, in West Wimmera Shire. Wimmera West in Apsley, and Cultural Centre, Halls 2. Henty, Gap located in the Grampians lake. freshwater largest Victoria’s The Wimmera River.