SUMMARY The Hume region councils are: Alpine Shire Council, Benalla Rural City Council, Greater Shepparton City Council, Indigo Shire Council, Mansfield Shire Council, Mitchell Shire Council, Moira Shire Council, Murrindindi Shire Council, Strathbogie Shire Council, Towong Shire Council, Wangaratta Rural City Council and Wodonga Council. This document is a summary of the Hume 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. 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May 2014 CONTENTS MINISTER'S MESSAGE i WHY WE NEED A PLAN 1 STATE OF CITIES 2 SNAPSHOT OF THE HUME REGION 3 VISION AND PRINCIPLES FOR THE HUME REGION 5 ABOUT THE HUME REGION 6 THE REGIONAL GROWTH PLAN MAP 7 WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES? 9 LIVING IN THE HUME REGION 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 HUME 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 Hume Regional Growth Plan is one of in helping to identify future infrastructure investment eight prepared across the state to help guide needs to support local education and health services 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 to In the May budget I announced a commitment the development of the Hume Regional Growth of $12.3 million for regional Victoria towards the Plan including our local government partners and implementation of regional growth plans and the Project Steering Committee that put the plan continuation of the Rural Council Planning Flying together. I look forward to the plan helping to shape Squad that plays such a valued role in assisting a more prosperous future for the region. councils with major projects, developments and 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 HUME REGIONAL GROWTH PLAN SUMMARY i WHY WE NEED A PLAN The Hume Regional Growth Plan has been “The Hume Regional Growth developed over two years in partnership between local government and state agencies and authorities. Plan provides a vision for The plan covers the municipalities of Alpine, Benalla, long-term prosperity and Greater Shepparton, Indigo, Mansfield, Mitchell, Moira, Murrindindi, Strathbogie, Towong, Wangaratta sustainable growth.” and Wodonga. The Hume Regional Growth Plan: The region is forecast to experience ongoing • establishes a framework for strategic land use population growth between 2012 and 2041. and settlement planning that can sustainably It has the capacity to accommodate a greater accommodate growth share of Victoria’s growth, which needs to be carefully managed to develop liveable and • identifies important economic, environmental, sustainable communities. social and cultural resources to be conserved, maintained or developed The plan considers a range of land uses • provides direction for accommodating growth including agriculture, tourism, environmental and change including residential, employment, assets, commercial and residential. It recommends industrial, commercial, agriculture and other checks and balances that need to be applied when rural activities considering future growth. • identifies which areas of land can accommodate As areas change over time infrastructure and growth and which are to be maintained service needs also change. Long-term planning • identifies opportunities for supporting regional is the best way to ensure these needs are met. A level infrastructure, providing an essential regional approach to planning enables coordinated contribution to the long-term sustainability responses across municipal borders. of the region. The plan’s key land use planning directions will be implemented through the state planning system. This will provide a regional context to guide and inform councils in planning for their municipalities and support decision making at a local level. 1 HUME 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 HUME REGIONAL GROWTH PLAN SUMMARY 2 SNAPSHOT OF THE HUME REGION The region Employment (top 5) Employment Over 40,700 sq km 14% 110,000 jobs Manufacturing extends from the northern edge of Over Melbourne to the Murray River in the north and the Victorian Alps in the south 13% 60,000 jobs Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing and east in Greater consists of four sub-regions: Central 11% Shepparton, Health Care and Social Assistance Hume, Goulburn Valley, Lower Hume Wodonga and and Upper Hume 11% Wangaratta Retail Trade a multi-centred region not dominated and over 4700 10% businesses by one large city Construction the three largest cities are Shepparton, Wodonga and Wangaratta Living in the region has 7 main river catchments – Murray, Around 276,300 people live in the region Goulburn, Broken, Ovens, King, Kiewa Almost 130,000 people live Wodonga and Mitta Mitta Rivers. in the municipalities of Greater Shepparton, Wangaratta Wodonga and Wangaratta 354,000 people are expected Greater Shepparton to live in the region by 2041* 56% of the region’s land use comprises rural activities, 43% is public land and less than 1% is used for urban purposes. Culturally diverse - more than 12% of the region’s population was born overseas (2011). *This excludes the southern part of Mitchell Shire which is within Melbourne’s Urban Growth Boundary. Amazing fact Quiz questions Amazing fact Along with its tributaries, 1. Which town is famous as the After gold was discovered site of the Ned Kelly siege the Murray River is the third in the 1850s, the population of in 1880? largest water catchment 2. Which lake is home to one Beechworth exceeded 10,000. on earth. Nearly 50% of Victoria’s premier water At the peak of the Gold Rush, of the total inflows to the sport facilities including a more than 5000 Chinese 2000 metre, fully buoyed, international standard people lived there. Murray-Darling Basin come rowing and canoeing course? Source: http://www.beechworthonline.com.au/ Answers page 4 from the region’s catchments. pages/beechworth-historic-and-cultural-precinct/ Images: Suit of armour worn by Ned Kelly / Chinese character for gold bullion / Mount Buller image courtesy of Tourism Channel / Lake Eildon 3 HUME REGIONAL GROWTH PLAN SUMMARY Environment Tourism and heritage Over 3000 wetlands, including the Barmah Forest which Over 2.5 million visitors are is listed under the Ramsar attracted to the region annually. convention as a wetland of Alpine resorts provide year-round nature-based international significance, and activities such as skiing, snowboarding, mountain Winton Wetlands. biking