INDIGO PLANNING SCHEME 21.01 MUNICIPAL PROFILE 19/01/2006 VC37 21.01-1 State and regional context 19/01/2006 VC37 Indigo Shire, located within north east Victoria, covers an area of 2,019 square kilometres. The Shire's eastern, south eastern and south western boundaries are shared with Towong, Alpine, and Wangaratta Shires respectively. To the west the Shire shares a small proportion its boundary along the Ovens River with Moira Shire. To the north the Shire surrounds the Rural City of Wodonga. The remainder of the northern boundary (to the east and west of Wodonga) is shared with the NSW Council of Hume Shire along the Murray River. The local and regional attributes and qualities of the Shire together with an extensive gold mining heritage provide a rich natural and built heritage in the region. The Shire relates to the adjoining rural areas and particularly to the major regional centres of Albury-Wodonga and Wangaratta. The Shire is located within the Murray-Darling Basin and more particularly the catchments of the Ovens and Kiewa Rivers, which contribute 38% of water to the Murray Darling Basin. The Shire borders the Australian Alps and the fertile plains of the Murray River floodplain. Lake Hume and Lake Moodemere are major water storage’s located within the Shire, providing significant landscape, recreation and tourism resources. The Shire’s outstanding historic towns, grape production areas, high altitude fruit growing areas, productive river flats and close proximity to the rapidly growing centre of Albury- Wodonga have produced a diverse combination of land uses and attributes. This local context applies within a wider region formed by the Hume Weir, the Victorian skifields and high country, forested areas and other recreation and tourist assets. The Shire’s locational attributes are further enhanced by its position on the major national highway linking the Sydney-Canberra and Melbourne, providing ready and convenient access to the Shire’s towns and rural areas. 21.01-2 Population 19/01/2006 VC37 The June 1997 ABS estimate of resident population for Indigo Shire was 14,336 persons, comprising about 16% of the Ovens-Murray Region and 1.1% of non-metropolitan Melbourne. Indigo Shire Council has achieved sustained above average population growth for more than two decades with the 1986-97 average annual growth at 1.3% (compared with 0.7% for non-metropolitan Melbourne and 0.9% for Victoria as a whole). Department of Infrastructure population projections predict that the Shire's population will increase by around 2,350 people over the next 15 years. With lower household occupancy rates it is anticipated that a further 1,150 new dwellings will be required over that period. The 1991 and 1996 census figures showed an overall increase in dwelling stock of 366 dwellings. Council records indicate an average new dwelling construction rate of 74 dwellings per year. The age structure of Indigo Shire's population in 1996 indicates a high "young aged" population, with over 30% of the Shire’s resident population aged from 0-17 and a high "old aged" population with 12% of the population in the over 65 groups. It is only in the young adult age range (20-34 years) where Indigo's population is relatively low by comparison with the Victorian average. The population distribution indicates that the Shire is not highly urbanised, nor concentrated in any particular sub-district. Approximately three out of every five people live in one of the seven main towns as demonstrated in the following 1996 enumerated ABS census count: MUNICIPAL STRATEGIC STATEMENT - CLAUSE 21 PAGE 1 OF 4 INDIGO PLANNING SCHEME TOWN '96 POP*. % POP. Beechworth 2,953 21.6 Rutherglen 1,904 13.9 Chiltern 1,080 7.9 Wahgunyah 624 4.6 Yackandandah 582 4.2 Barnawartha 438 3.2 Kiewa-Tangambalanga 365 2.7 Rural Balance 5,723 41.9 * Dept. of Infrastructure 1998 "Towns in Time" In comparison with the relatively high growth rate in the 1986-91 period, the 1991-96 figures indicate that the population has remained fairly stable. Indigo Shire has a large number of people in the 0-14 age group suggesting a large proportion of families in the Shire. Low numbers in the 15-29 age group indicate a population movement away from the Shire for educational or employment reasons. Income figures suggest that the Shire area has an income structure similar to Victoria. A major influence over population change in the Shire is the close proximity of the Shire to major service centre of Albury-Wodonga and to a lesser extent Wangaratta and Corowa/Wahgunyah. While Albury-Wodonga continues to be one of Australia’s fastest growing regional centres, all three centres offer significant employment opportunities for Indigo Shire residents. 21.01-3 Settlement and infrastructure 19/01/2006 VC37 The Shire’s main towns are Beechworth and Rutherglen together with the smaller townships of Wahgunyah, Yackandandah, Kiewa - Tangambalanga, Chiltern and Barnawartha. These towns are home to about 60% of the Shire’s total population. The towns perform distinct roles providing not only commercial services to their residents and surrounding areas but also importantly community focus through the presence of facilities such as public halls, sporting facilities, etc. The towns of the Shire also provide an important nexus between the more sparsely rural areas and the large regional centre of Albury-Wodonga. The Shire is fortunate that all of its towns have a historic base of providing various infrastructure services and facilities. Each major town is serviced by reticulated water. Kiewa-Tangambalanga presently has no sewerage and a water supply that is fully committed. Barnawartha presently has a sewerage system that only services a new residential estate located on the northern boundary of the town. Augmentation of infrastructure in terms of quality and quantity has to occur in most towns to accommodate expected population increases. North East Region Water Authority has already commenced a comprehensive works program within the Shire including provision of sewerage to Kiewa-Tangambalanga and Barnawartha, and planning for augmentation of water supplies in Beechworth, Yackandandah, Chiltern, and Rutherglen. The scale and significance of the Hume Freeway dominate the Shire's transport infrastructure. The Murray Valley Highway connects with the Hume east of Barnawartha and links to Rutherglen and to the west to Echuca. The Murray Valley Highway joins with the Hume east of Wodonga and connects to Corryong. The Kiewa Valley Highway runs south from Wodonga. Tourist promotion has seen the Wodonga-Yackandandah- MUNICIPAL STRATEGIC STATEMENT - CLAUSE 21 PAGE 2 OF 4 INDIGO PLANNING SCHEME Beechworth-Wangaratta Road increasingly used as an alternative route to the Hume Freeway for the Shire's heritage towns. 21.01-4 Economy 19/01/2006 VC37 Indigo's relatively modest population and lack of a major provincial centre tends to conceal the level of economic activity in the Shire. The value of manufactured products exported from the Shire (to other parts of Australia and overseas) in 1997 is estimated to be $491 million with the total income generated by economic activities estimated to be $640 million. The local economy is predominantly based around agriculture that is estimated to have generated around $60 million worth of produce per year for the three years 1994- 1996. The agricultural economy comprises approximately 25% of the north east region’s agricultural produce. The major commodities are milk production ($22 million) and cattle ($17.7 million) which together form the dominant broad acre agricultural activities within the Shire. The Shire also encompasses one of the principal grape growing regions in Australia. The Rutherglen - Milawa area is ranked as the tenth largest grape growing area in Australia, supplying 1% of Australia’s wine. The total value of winery tourism in the North East 1997 is estimated at over $23million. The Rutherglen area is acknowledged world wide for its quality and range of fortified wines. The Kiewa valley is a highly productive dairy area, supporting the township of Kiewa - Tangambalanga. Other high quality agricultural areas are limited but include the Stanley area, which has Victoria’s only attributes of red soils found at high altitude, contributing to the production of high quality apples, berries and nuts. Two large food processing industries are located within the Shire, namely Uncle Toby's at Wahgunyah and Murray Goulburn at Tangambalanga. The Shire of Indigo also plays a limited role in providing timber for the north east region, with plantations mainly located around the Stanley/Beechworth area. Historic and attractive townships and Rutherglen's wineries are compelling tourism features of Indigo Shire. These attributes support healthy levels of tourist visitation. There is however scope for greater integration of the Shire's attractions and the formalisation of tourist trails and routes related to wine and food and history. Employment within the Shire has increased over the past decade with significant structural change resulting in employment losses in agriculture, manufacturing and construction. Corresponding increases have been experienced in service sector employment such as recreation/tourism, personal service, finance, retail and wholesale. Reliance solely on larger centres for job creation will reinforce a commuter role for the Shire. It will also increase uncertainty in terms of direction, given that the Shire’s future would then be reliant on actions or strategies of other municipalities and centres. Indigo Shire is provided with a series of opportunities that derive from its small towns and lifestyle base. The Shire has many excellent natural attributes that can be further developed to strengthen the local economy. These attributes are too important for the Shire to increasingly function and be seen solely as a dormitory area. Consequently the strengthening of the Shire's economy will be facilitated by a strategy of reinforcing the importance of agriculture to the region and allowing new industries and existing primary industries to diversify and expand in appropriate areas.