PLANNING SCHEME

21.02 MUNICIPAL PROFILE 19/01/2006 VC37 The Rural lies entirely within the catchment of the Murray Darling Basin and is contained within the North East Catchment Management Authority Area. Although not located on the Murray River. The, Ovens and King Rivers are major contributor of water into this system . These rivers flow through the rural areas, providing water for farms and industry and are under increasing pressure from agricultural run-off, demand for diversions, salinity, industrial emissions and effluent from settlement. The Rural City of Wangaratta has a comfortable climate with four distinct seasons. It has a predominantly winter rainfall with an average of 636mm and 98 rain days per annum. Its terrain, geology and climate not only make it an attractive place to live but also support a diversity of agricultural activities. The total population of the Rural City of Wangaratta is approximately 26,400 in 2001 and is expected to grow to 26,670 by 2021 according to the Department of Infrastructure. It is estimated that approximately 62% of the population (16,100) live in the urban area of Wangaratta. Overall, the Wangaratta urban area has been in slow, but steady, population decline since 1981, losing an average of 2.1% population each census period. There are many small towns and rural centres within the Rural City of Wangaratta. Capacity for further development of these settlements has been investigated as part of the High Quality Agriculture and Rural Residential Strategy 2001. The highest population proportions are in the school aged children (5-17) and family formation age groups (25-49). This suggests that the Rural City employs workers with families, losing its youth to education and employment opportunities elsewhere. According to the Department of Infrastructure, the Rural City of Wangaratta is likely to experience a minor increase in population overall for the period to 2021 (approximately 1%). The “elderly” segment of the population (aged 60 years and over) is predicted to grow over the planning period. This has important implications for the range of services to be provided within the Rural City and it is acknowledged that more attention needs to be given to identifying areas suitable for elderly accommodation. Agriculture is a key industry within the Rural City of Wangaratta, and it is expanding and diversifying, especially into intensive industries such as grapes, vegetables, stone fruit and olives. The southern portion of the municipality is largely public land, including part of the Alpine National Park which extends into the local governments of Delatite, Alpine and Wellington. The remainder of the municipality is primarily agricultural with dryland farming and irrigated farming along the river valleys. Wangaratta urban area is a major regional centre, providing social services, regional offices and higher order retail functions. Wangaratta, unlike many regional centres, has a large percentage of its workforce employed in manufacturing, which is the major industry sector in the Rural City. Industry accounted for 21.6 percent of all employed persons in the 1996 census. The percentage of persons employed in manufacturing increased by 28.7 percent in the intercensal period from 1991. Manufacturing has traditionally been in the Textile, Clothing and Footwear sector. Council is promoting Wangaratta’s competitive advantage in relation to timber based industries. The transition to this growth area is critical to the maintenance of the manufacturing employment base. Tourism is also an important sector within the Rural City of Wangaratta. Food, wine, natural assets and heritage are amongst the tourism attractors. For example, Glenrowan alone generates $34 million for the area, and this is anticipated to grow to $69 million by 2012. This is largely due to Glenrowan having a strong association with the Kelly Gang, being the site of the Kelly Gang siege. Glenr