21.02 MUNICIPAL PROFILE 21.02-1 Location East Gippsland Shire Is

EAST GIPPSLAND PLANNING SCHEME 21.02 MUNICIPAL PROFILE 19/01/2006 VC37 21.02-1 Location 19/01/2006 VC37 East Gippsland Shire is located in the far eastern corner of Victoria, between 280 and 550 kilometres from Melbourne. It covers 21,051 square kilometres and is the second largest municipality in the State. It is composed of the areas of the former Shires of Orbost, Tambo, Bairnsdale and Omeo and the City of Bairnsdale, as well as part of the former Shire of Rosedale. The main towns of the Shire are Bairnsdale, Lakes Entrance, Orbost, Paynesville, Omeo and Mallacoota. Bairnsdale has the largest population and is also the regional retail and service centre. There are approximately 10 smaller towns and a large number of rural settlements or localities generally centred on community and sporting facilities. 21.02-2 Regional context 19/01/2006 VC37 East Gippsland adjoins five other municipalities: Alpine, Towong and Wellington Shires in Victoria; and Bombala and Bega Valley Shires in New South Wales. TOWONG SHIRE BOMBALA SHIRE ALPINE SHIRE BEGA VALLEY SHIRE EAST GIPPSLAND SHIRE WELLINGTON BAW BAW SHIRE SHIRE LA TROBE SHIRE BASS COAST SHIRE SOUTH GIPPSLAND SHIRE REGIONAL CONTEXT Planning, land use and resource management issues in East Gippsland Shire that have regional, State or national significance include: Transport corridors The Princes Highway, a key national transport artery, traverses East Gippsland from west to east. The major north-south route is the Monaro Highway link to Canberra, but the Omeo Highway and the Bonang Road are also important interstate connections. In addition, East Gippsland and Alpine Shires share the Great Alpine Road through the Victorian high country. MUNICIPAL STRATEGIC STATEMENT - CLAUSE 21.02 PAGE 1 OF 14 EAST GIPPSLAND PLANNING SCHEME Energy The Bass Strait oil and gas fields lie off the coast of East Gippsland, although the resources are brought ashore for processing at Longford in the adjoining Wellington Shire. In 1999- 2000, a major trunk pipeline, the Eastern Gas Pipeline, is to be constructed through East Gippsland to link the Victorian natural gas supply system with that of New South Wales. This will provide the opportunity to connect many of the households in East Gippsland – in the Bairnsdale, Paynesville, Lakes Entrance and Orbost districts – to reticulated natural gas. The Kipper oil and gas fields, off Orbost, also have the potential for development within the next 20 years. Coasts & port facilities East Gippsland Shire contains the only readily accessible port between Corner Inlet and Eden, at Lakes Entrance. This port is home to a large and commercially significant fishing fleet, which supplies a substantial proportion of the fresh fish for the Melbourne market. There is also a commercial abalone industry based at Mallacoota. Potential exists for expansion of access to off-shore recreational and sports fisheries through both Lakes Entrance and Mallacoota, providing appropriate infrastructure can be maintained or provided. Timber harvesting/processing Some timber resources from State Forests in the Tambo Forest Management Area are currently transported out of East Gippsland Shire for processing. Some residual timber from forests in East Gippsland Forest Management Area is also processed in locations outside the Shire, including the New South Wales South Coast. Substantial potential exists for value-adding to timber resources in the Shire. National Parks & conservation areas. The Shire contains major National Parks that are contiguous with parks or conservation areas outside its boundaries. These include: the Alpine National Park, which extends into Wellington and Alpine Shires and beyond; Coopracambra National Park, which adjoins the new South East Forests National Park in New South Wales; the Gippsland Lakes Coastal Park; and Croajingolong National Park which links to Nadgee Nature Reserve in NSW to protect a major tract of coastal wilderness. Catchment management Catchment management issues – particularly erosion and nutrient inputs – in the Lake Wellington catchment of the Gippsland Lakes (in Wellington Shire) have the potential to impact significantly on water quality in the eastern part of the Lakes system. On the north of the Divide, East Gippsland Shire is responsible for the upper reaches of the Mitta Mitta River and several smaller streams flowing into the Murray-Darling Basin. The potential for additional water from the Mitchell River to be harvested for expansion of irrigation within the Shire is currently under investigation. Sub-Alpine areas The creation of the new airport at Horsehair Plain, east of Dinner Plain in Alpine Shire, together with the recent sealing of the Great Alpine Road will lead to new opportunities for development of year-round tourist services and facilities in the sub-alpine area of East Gippsland Shire, focussed on Omeo. Pressures for subdivision and development in the MUNICIPAL STRATEGIC STATEMENT - CLAUSE 21.02 PAGE 2 OF 14 EAST GIPPSLAND PLANNING SCHEME adjoining areas will also need to be managed. Substantial increases in visitors to other areas along the Great Alpine Road can be expected as a result of promotion of this major touring route. 21.02-3 Municipal overview 19/01/2006 VC37 The Shire is very diverse in terms of climate, landform and vegetation types. It has a long ocean coastline – accessible at only a limited number of points – as well as encompassing a substantial part of the Gippsland Lakes system. It also contains extensive areas of alpine and sub-alpine environments and a number of major river systems. Rainfall varies significantly from up to 2,200 millimetres per year on the Errinundra Plateau, to around 700 millimetres on the coastal plains falling to as low as 500 millimetres in rain shadow areas such as the Snowy River valley, south of the New South Wales border. Almost 75 per cent of the land in the Shire is publicly owned. Private land amounts to around 4,200 square kilometres, covering the Red Gum plains and part of the coastal plains, mountain plateaux and fertile river valleys. Only 64 square kilometres of land is classified as urban. The population of the Shire is approximately 38,000 people, mostly concentrated in the major towns of the south west corner. Outside this area, the pattern of settlement is very dispersed, requiring a extensive network of roads and community facilities in proportion to the size of the population. East Gippsland is an area of spectacular landscapes and vast natural resources, and these constitute a significant tourist attraction. The tourism assets of the Shire include large areas of native forests, extensive river and lakes systems, attractive coastlines and diverse flora and fauna. The Ninety Mile Beach and Gippsland Lakes, in particular, are important tourist attractions and the coastal towns are popular retirement locations. Other remote and semi- remote areas in the Shire are also significant tourist destinations. The development pattern in East Gippsland and the associated transportation network has been dictated largely by the topography of the area. The Princes Highway and the Gippsland Railway (from Melbourne to Bairnsdale) run east-west through the flatter southern portion of the Shire. North-south links to the Princes Highway include the Great Alpine Road, the Gelantipy Road, the Bonang Road and the Monaro Highway. Private land in the Shire is concentrated close to these main routes. The Princes Highway provides an important freight and general transportation link between East Gippsland and Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra. Other roads are important in linking local industries and farm enterprises to this central corridor. For planning purposes, four distinct sub-regions have been identified, on the basis of demographic and economic characteristics, topography and accessibility. These sub- regions, shown below and on the Strategic Framework Plan (p.18) are: the Lakes & Coastal area; the Agricultural Hinterland; the Highlands; and the Valleys & Forests area. MUNICIPAL STRATEGIC STATEMENT - CLAUSE 21.02 PAGE 3 OF 14 EAST GIPPSLAND PLANNING SCHEME Highland Valleys & Forests Agricultural Hinterland Lakes & Coastal Lakes & Coastal The Lakes & Coastal sub-region includes: Bairnsdale, the regional centre; the Gippsland Lakes and the Ninety Mile Beach; the coastal towns of Lakes Entrance, Lake Tyers Beach, Marlo, Bemm River and Mallacoota; the lakeside communities of Paynesville, Eagle Point, Newlands Arm, Raymond Island and Metung; and the riverside towns of Nicholson River, Johnsonville, Swan Reach and Nowa Nowa. The sub-region encompasses the Gippsland Lakes and other coastal lakes systems, valuable habitats, major tourist destinations and the most rapidly growing urban areas in the Shire. The area is vulnerable to undesirable environmental impacts from development so a major challenge is to balance development pressures against the need to protect sensitive environments and high landscape values. Agricultural Hinterland The Agricultural Hinterland comprises the fertile plains between the mountains and hills to the north and the lakes and coastal areas to the south, including the Mitchell River and Snowy River flats. The area contains the townships of Lindenow, Bruthen, Buchan, Orbost and Cann River. Whilst this area includes high quality agricultural land, the distance from markets and declines in the agricultural commodity prices and in the timber industry are constraints to future prosperity. Establishment of value-adding industries is seen as an opportunity to enhance the viability

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