Economic Development & Tourism Strategy 2015-2019 …Development Focus Yarriambiack Shire Council...

Economic Development

& Tourism Strategy 2015-2019 SUMMARY

CONFIDENTIAL: Yarriambiack Shire EDS Summary

17/07/15/VR786/WS/V2

ACN 002 332 176

SUMMARY

Overview

Yarriambiack Shire is in the north east of the Wimmera Southern Mallee region. The north of the Shire is characterised by the dunes of the Lowan Mallee and sandy plains of the Mallee, while the south of the Shire is part of the undulating plains of the Wimmera. Warracknabeal is the largest township in the Shire, followed by Murtoa, Hopetoun, Minyip, Rupanyup and Beulah. Warracknabeal is centrally located in the Shire; 57 kilometres north of Horsham and around 350 kilometres north east of Melbourne.

The Shire economy is highly dependent on broadacre farming and so are the Shire’s urban centres, which have economies that have built their business bases to contribute to agribusiness supply chains and to provide services to farming communities. The agricultural activity is dominated by wheat, barley, lambs and wool, grain legumes, and oilseeds. This agricultural focus has given the Shire and its towns many distinctive features, strong resilience and connected communities, but it has also led to decades long population decline as farms have become bigger and more automated, and the financial returns from agricultural commodities have continued to decline in an increasingly competitive global environment.

The total resident population of Yarriambiack Shire has been decreasing by an annual average of 1.28% over the past decade. In 2013, the population was 7,018 (having declined from 7,982 in 2003)1.

Economic Development Focus

Yarriambiack Shire Council does not currently have the financial resources to support a highly proactive economic development work program, and has determined that it is currently unable to support a dedicated economic development staff function. Despite this situation, Yarriambiack Shire will have a continuing role in economic development. This strategy embraces Yarriambiack Shire’s agreed economic development directions:

! Continuing to strongly support the broadacre farming industries in the Shire, which will always be a major fabric of the Yarriambiack economy: Grains, grain legumes and oilseeds, and sheep for wool and meat.

! Encouraging the expansion of intensive agricultural enterprises (which are more likely to establish) following the construction of the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline.

! Maximising local value adding to agricultural products. This will include marketing, logistics and unique relationships; not just adding value to products (through packing, grading, mixing, milling, etc).

! Being a rural Victorian leader in facilitating Community Enterprises, potentially as a ‘model’ municipality through alliances with philanthropic and/or social enterprise peak groups.

! Seeking investment and regular upgrades for critical town and rural assets (road, rail, airstrips, recreation areas, parks, waterways and storages, historic features and commercial and industrial precincts)

! Supporting the Shire’s strong and caring communities in their efforts to retain and enhance services, attract visitors and new residents, and to implement innovations.

! Theming towns and providing a consistency in town entrances, streetscapes and interpretive information.

1 ABS Regional Population Growth, Australia (April 2014)


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! Considering the costs and benefits of Council incentive and support packages for new and expanding businesses.

! Valuing, promoting and supporting trade and recreational events and community festivals, and maximising the economic benefits flowing from these events.

Economic Development Strategies

Yarriambiack Shire Council’s Vision is:

“In consultation with our community Yarriambiack Shire Council will provide a viable, sustainable and vibrant future”2.

Yarriambiack’s municipal strategic statement focuses on land use planning and development issues and initiatives which will be taken to implement and achieve an agreed vision. The vision embraces the concept of an active community with a diversified economic base integrated with a sustainable and productive agricultural industry. The proposed economic development strategies, and their associated actions, support Council’s vision.

The strategies are designed to assist council staff to have an economic development focus across the organisation, without an explicit economic development staff unit. They assume Council will have an ongoing commitment to economic development facilitation and support in creating a climate for investment and innovation, and in being a proactive auspice (either alone or in partnership with community organisations) to attract economic development initiatives to the Shire.

Strategy 1: Planning Scheme Provisions and Council Policies Use Council policies and planning provisions to recognise and enhance the contribution made by Yarriambiack’s major and emerging industries, in order to -‐ provide a supportive environment, and -‐ encourage new investment, job creation and innovation.

Strategy 2: Economic Development as a Multi-‐Disciplinary Function across Council

Departments Implement a whole-‐of-‐Council/multidisciplinary team approach to funding, facilitating and delivering economic development infrastructure projects.

Strategy 3: Facilitate Investment in Priority Industry Sectors

Maximise the efficient use of Council resources to promote and coordinate support (across all Council staff areas including planning, building, community services, operations and administration) for the targeted and high priority industries for economic development investment over the next five years.

Strategy 4: Collaborative Tourism and Branding Facilitate local and regional collaboration in tourism activities, and establish a new

Yarriambiack tourism brand position. Detailed actions for these strategies are summarised in Figure 1. A map of the Shire is shown in Figure 2

2 Yarriambiack Shire Council Plan 2013-‐17

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TIAL: Yarriam

biack Shire ED

S Summary

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Figure 1

Econ

omic Develop

ment Strategies and

Actions

Strategy

Action

Description

1.1 Econ

omic Develop

ment

Assets in Policy and the

Planning Schem

e

Recognise, throu

gh Cou

ncil po

licy and the Co

uncil Planning Schem

e, the ongoing assets associated w

ith the Shire’s

agricultu

ral, natural and

herita

ge resou

rces.

1.2 Supp

ly of Land for Econ

omic

Develop

ment

Recognise, throu

gh Cou

ncil po

licy and the Co

uncil P

lann

ing Scheme, the needs of Yarriambiack’s towns for availability

and choice in rural living, residentia

l, and commercial land

to sup

port th

eir long te

rm viability

1.3 Agricultural D

iversification

Supp

ort a

gricultural produ

cers looking to diversify th

eir farm

ing op

erations, particularly th

ose associated with

: -‐

Intensive and semi-‐intensive livestock, tree crop

s and row crops utilising water resou

rces from the W

immera

Mallee Pipeline.

-‐ Broadacre crop

rotations and

other m

easures to im

prove soil health, redu

ce environ

mental d

egradatio

n and

adapt to climate change.

-‐ Differentia

ting Yarriambiack’s agricultu

ral prod

ucts from com

mod

ities produ

ced elsewhere in Australia and

overseas

Stra

tegy

1: P

lann

ing

Sche

me

Prov

isio

ns a

nd C

ounc

il Po

licie

s.

Use

Cou

ncil po

licies an

d plan

ning

pr

ovisions

to rec

ognise

and

enh

ance

the co

ntribu

tion

mad

e by

Ya

rriambiac

k’s major

and

emerging

indu

stries

, in or

der to:

-‐ Pro

vide

a sup

portive en

viro

nmen

t,

and

-‐ Enc

oura

ge new

inve

stmen

t, jo

b crea

tion

and

inno

vation

.

1.4 Re

newable Energy and

Minerals

Supp

ort planning app

lications and

major projects in renew

able energy and sand

mining which have overwhelmingly

positive econ

omic, social and

environ

mental m

erit (in

the sho

rt to medium term these are expected to includ

e the Murra

Warra W

ind Farm

develop

ment, and

the extension of mineral sands logistics services by Kalari).

Stra

tegy

2:

Econ

omic

D

evel

opm

ent

as a

Mul

ti-‐D

isci

plin

ary

Func

tion

acr

oss

Coun

cil

Dep

artm

ents

. Im

plem

ent a

who

le-‐of-‐

Coun

cil/multid

isciplinar

y team

ap

proa

ch to

fund

ing, fa

cilitating an

d de

livering ec

onom

ic dev

elop

men

t infras

truc

ture pro

jects.

2.1 Tow

n Entrances,

Streetscaping and

Land

scaping

Design and construct attractive and consistent signage, central activities area streetscaping, and

landscaping for tow

n entrances, on an achievable and prioritised rollout schedule (over 3 to 5 years), commencing w

ith the Shire’s largest

centres (W

arracknabeal, M

urtoa, Hop

etou

n, M

inyip and Ru

panyup

), includ

ing a review

of the signage and standards at

key tourist facilities in each town, as well as tow

n entry bo

ards that provide inform

ation abou

t local attractio

ns and

facilities, th

eir locatio

ns and

trading tim

es.

For all significant tow

ns in th

e Shire:

o

Install town entry ‘welcome’ signage that indicates 3-‐4 major attractions in the town, eg. caravan park, lake

reserve, herita

ge walk.

o

Positio

n on

major access routes, along with

directio

nal signage to

main streets (especially at W

arracknabeal).

o

Signage could have a com

mon

style across the shire (reflecting shire’s tourism brand

) bu

t reflect a uniqu

e them

e and image for each to

wn.

o

Aud

it signage to key to

urist facilitie

s in each town, such as to

ilets, and

add

ress im

provem

ents required.

o

Install tow

n entry bo

ards that provide inform

ation abou

t local attractions and

facilities, and

their locatio

ns and

op

ening ho

urs.

o

Review

the road entries to all major tow

ns to identify op

portun

ities fo

r beautification, such as land

scaping and

street lighting. Co

mplem

ent the town entry signage with

a staged streetscaping program in each central

activities area.

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TIAL: Yarriam

biack Shire ED

S Summary

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ACN

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Figure 1

Econ

omic Develop

ment Strategies and

Actions (con

tinu

ed)

Strategy

Action

Description

2.2 Co

mmun

ity Enterprises

Provide leadership in the im

plem

entatio

n of com

mun

ity based retail, ho

spita

lity and recreatio

n enterprises (by assisting

commun

ity group

s in assessing projects, forming relatio

nships with

potentia

l venture partners, and

securing fund

s and

expand

relationships with

Reichstein Foun

datio

n and Sunshine Fou

ndation).

2.3 Indu

strial Land

Provide attractive indu

strially zon

ed areas and

serviced indu

strial land

to supp

ort efficient secon

dary and

tertia

ry sector

businesses (includ

ing manufacturing, constructio

n, trades related, storage, who

lesaling, w

arehou

sing and

transpo

rt

operations).

Und

ertake a feasibility assessment of a Cou

ncil ow

ned indu

strial estate developm

ent, or a ‘themed’ ind

ustrial estate (eg

based arou

nd grain or pu

lse value adding enterprises/activities) as part of the com

mitm

ent to provide ind

ustrial

developm

ent site

s, in com

plem

ent to urban grow

th plans and

indu

strial zon

es in the Shire’s five major to

wns

2.4 Health and Social Services

Ackno

wledge that, w

hile agriculture rem

ains the m

ainstay of the Shire’s econo

my, the health

and

social services indu

stry

needs to be a grow

th area for at least the next fifteen years in order to keep pace with

increasing dem

and. To maximise

this growth there m

ust be proactive supp

ort for continued investment in health

and

aged care facilitie

s providing

independ

ent, sup

ported and

full care residentia

l and

sup

port services.

2.5 Hou

sing Develop

ment

Co

llabo

rate with

Wimmera

Develop

ment Associatio

n, neighb

ouring Shires and

potential developers to establish

inno

vative developm

ents in new

hou

sing.

“Release” residential properties where there are severe ‘rates in arrears’ issues. If these properties could be returned to

the market for reoccupatio

n, renovation, or demolition

, it wou

ld significantly add

to the stock of affordable ho

using in

the Shire, and

provide a new

opp

ortunity fo

r bo

th pop

ulation and rates increases

Stra

tegy

2:

Econ

omic

D

evel

opm

ent

as a

Mul

ti-‐D

isci

plin

ary

Func

tion

acr

oss

Coun

cil

Dep

artm

ents

(con

tinu

ed).

2.6 Re

creation

al W

ater Assets

Prom

ote the impo

rtance of the Shire’s key creeks, w

eir po

ols, and

lakes as m

ajor liveability assets of the Shire’s tow

ns,

includ

ing Warracknabeal, Murtoa, H

opetou

n, Beulah and Brim, and secure the highest possible priority for w

ater

allocatio

n to ensure these water assets are maintained (requiring less th

an 1,000 megalitres per ann

um).

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TIAL: Yarriam

biack Shire ED

S Summary

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Figure 1

Econ

omic Develop

ment Strategies and

Actions (con

tinu

ed)

Strategy

Action

Description

3.1 to 3.4 Priority Indu

stry

Sectors

The specific action

s for Strategy 3 are to ensure the Cou

ncil team

and

Cou

ncil stakeholders are aware of the

high priority target areas, and have a coo

perative app

roach in facilitating opp

ortunities as they arise. The

high priority econ

omic develop

ment o

pportunity areas are:

Primary indu

stry sectors:

Mainstream

• Intensive livestock

– Lamb fin

ishing

– Po

ultry meat, eggs and game

– Pigs

• Pu

lses

Niche

• Climate respon

sive systems

• Local gou

rmet fo

od.

Second

ary indu

stry sectors:

• Co

llabo

rative marketing and

logistics in agriculture

• Stock feed manufacture

• Local agricultural produ

ct value add

ing/processing

• Agricultural m

achinery and

equ

ipment

• Hou

sing fo

r the services workforce

Tertiary indu

stry sectors:

• Re

tail and integrated com

mercial com

mun

ity enterprises in to

wn centres.

Quinary indu

stry sectors

• Food

services

• Agritou

rism

, agri-‐h

istory to

urism and

tourism trails

• Active aged care/retirement

3.5 Profession

al

Develop

ment

for Bu

sinesses

Continue to

provide

profession

al d

evelop

ment mod

ules (through

Coun

cil resources and

linkages with

Wimmera

Develop

ment A

ssociatio

n) fo

r existin

g sm

all businesses across all sectors, th

rough

- Mentoring session

s -

Invigoratin

g produ

cts/services

- Bu

siness im

provem

ent w

orksho

ps

Stra

tegy

3:

Faci

litat

e In

vest

men

t in

Pr

iori

ty In

dust

ry S

ecto

rs.

Max

imise the effic

ient use

of Co

uncil

reso

urce

s to pro

mote an

d co

ordina

te

supp

ort

(acros

s all

Coun

cil

staff

area

s includ

ing

plan

ning

, bu

ilding,

commun

ity se

rvices

, op

erations

and

ad

ministration) for

the

tar

geted an

d high

prior

ity indu

stries

for

eco

nomic

deve

lopm

ent

inve

stmen

t ov

er the

next five

yea

rs.

3.6 National Broadband

Prom

otion

Prom

ote the op

portun

ities to Yarriambiack bu

sinesses, in cond

uctin

g on

line and efficient com

mun

ication links, from the

relatively early access to

the natio

nal broadband

network (NBN

) that is programmed fo

r the Shire.

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biack Shire ED

S Summary

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Page 6

Figure 1

Econ

omic Develop

ment Strategies and

Actions (con

tinu

ed)

Strategy

Action

Description

3.1 to 3.4 Priority Indu

stry

Sectors

The specific action

s for Strategy 3 are to ensure the Cou

ncil team

and

Cou

ncil stakeholders are aware of the

high priority target areas, and have a coo

perative app

roach in facilitating opp

ortunities as they arise. The

high priority econ

omic develop

ment o

pportunity areas are:

Primary indu

stry sectors:

Mainstream

• Intensive livestock

– Lamb fin

ishing

– Po

ultry meat, eggs and game

– Pigs

• Pu

lses

Niche

• Climate respon

sive systems

• Local gou

rmet fo

od.

Second

ary indu

stry sectors:

• Co

llabo

rative marketing and

logistics in agriculture

• Stock feed manufacture

• Local agricultural produ

ct value add

ing/processing

• Agricultural m

achinery and

equ

ipment

• Hou

sing fo

r the services workforce

Tertiary indu

stry sectors:

• Re

tail and integrated com

mercial com

mun

ity enterprises in to

wn centres.

Quinary indu

stry sectors

• Food

services

• Agritou

rism

, agri-‐h

istory to

urism and

tourism trails

• Active aged care/retirement

3.5 Profession

al

Develop

ment

for Bu

sinesses

Continue to

provide

profession

al d

evelop

ment mod

ules (through

Coun

cil resources and

linkages with

Wimmera

Develop

ment A

ssociatio

n) fo

r existin

g sm

all businesses across all sectors, th

rough

- Mentoring session

s -

Invigoratin

g produ

cts/services

- Bu

siness im

provem

ent w

orksho

ps

Stra

tegy

3:

Faci

litat

e In

vest

men

t in

Pr

iori

ty In

dust

ry S

ecto

rs.

Max

imise the effic

ient use

of Co

uncil

reso

urce

s to pro

mote an

d co

ordina

te

supp

ort

(acros

s all

Coun

cil

staff

area

s includ

ing

plan

ning

, bu

ilding,

commun

ity se

rvices

, op

erations

and

ad

ministration) for

the

tar

geted an

d high

prior

ity indu

stries

for

eco

nomic

deve

lopm

ent

inve

stmen

t ov

er the

next five

yea

rs.

3.6 National Broadband

Prom

otion

Prom

ote the op

portun

ities to Yarriambiack bu

sinesses, in cond

uctin

g on

line and efficient com

mun

ication links, from the

relatively early access to

the natio

nal broadband

network (NBN

) that is programmed fo

r the Shire.

CONFIDEN

TIAL: Yarriam

biack Shire ED

S Summary

17/07/15/VR7

86/W

S/V2

ACN

002 332 176

Figure 1

Econ

omic Develop

ment Strategies and

Actions (con

tinu

ed)

Strategy

Action

Description

4.1 Tourism Organisation

Linkages

Continue to

build tou

rism

marketin

g relatio

nships b

etween

Yarriambiack Tourism, Wimmera Mallee Tourism and

Grampians Tourism, and use these relatio

nships to help in mon

itoring and

con

ducting visitor research to improve the

understand

ing of visito

r perception

s of th

e Shire’s experiences, visita

tion trends and

behaviours.

4.2 Tourism Brand

ing

Develop

a clear brand

position

ing for Yarriambiack Shire based on

local agricultural foo

d prod

uctio

n, and

use it to guide

prom

otional activities and

the develop

ment of visito

r experiences and events in the shire. The brand po

sitio

ning sho

uld

be inform

ed by fin

dings from

the visito

r research. D

evelop

a clear brand

position

ing for Yarriambiack Shire based on

local

agricultu

ral foo

d prod

uctio

n, and

use it to guide prom

otional activities and

the develop

ment of visito

r experiences and

events in th

e shire. The brand

position

ing shou

ld be inform

ed by fin

dings from

the visitor research.

4.3 Cabin and Camping

Accom

mod

ation

Investigate the po

tential to develop

more cabin accommod

ation in their caravan parks, and encourage the tourism

indu

stry to

upgrade existing accommod

ation prop

ertie

s.

Endo

rse the range of low-‐cost a

nd designated free cam

ping locatio

ns in th

e Shire, with

access to pow

er.

4.4 Tourist Inform

ation

Co

nduct an aud

it of interpretive inform

ation available in each town. Identify opp

ortunitie

s to im

prove the telling of local

stories, and

develop

add

ition

al interpretive signage and inform

ation.

Install self-‐serve tourist inform

ation kiosks in each tow

n at a location that is accessible seven days a weekCon

duct an

audit of interpretive inform

ation available in each town. Identify opp

ortunitie

s to im

prove the telling of local stories, and

develop additio

nal interpretive signage and inform

ation.

Install self-‐serve tourist information kiosks in each town at a locatio

n that is accessible seven days a week

4.5 Tours and Them

es

Package the agricultu

ral h

erita

ge attractions in

to a visit experience for group

s and independ

ent travellers. T

he package

wou

ld include The M

urtoa Stick Shed, Wheatland

s Museum, Woo

d’s Farm

ing and Herita

ge M

useum and

the W

illiam

Farrer mon

ument.

Develop

and

promote other them

ed tou

ring itin

eraries (which focus on natural attractio

ns, tracks and

trails, heritage,

and agrifood

). 4.6 Profession

al Develop

ment

for Tourism Business

Operators

Continue to provide profession

al develop

ment learning opp

ortunitie

s for the local b

usiness commun

ity, includ

ing field

trips, training session

s and netw

orking nights

Stra

tegy

4:

Col

labo

rati

ve T

ouri

sm

and

Bran

ding

Fa

cilitate

loca

l an

d region

al

colla

bora

tion

in tour

ism ac

tivities

an

d es

tablish

a ne

w Ya

rriambiac

k tour

ism bra

nd pos

ition

4.7 Sport and Re

creation

Events

Prom

ote the Shire’s sport a

nd recreation facilities and venu

es as locatio

ns fo

r inter-‐region

al com

petitions and

events.


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Figure 2 Yarriambiack Shire Map


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Priority Economic Development Initiatives Although it is recognised that specific new opportunities will emerge, and some may dissipate, over the next five years, the following specific initiatives have been selected by Council and Senior Staff as major priorities.

! Murra Warra Wind Farm Project Renewable energy company RES Australia is working towards the establishment of a 110 to 117 turbines wind farm at Murra Warra in the south-‐west of Yarriambiack Shire (between Minyip and Horsham), and Council expects a planning application to be lodged within the next 12 months. Council hopes to be able to approve this application, and to encourage the Victorian Government to fast-‐track its approval of this important development. The Murra Warra project estimated to involve capital development expenditure of $650 million (a larger project than the Wimmera Mallee pipeline project, at $500 million) with a construction workforce impact of 610 jobs.

Once operational, the Murra Warra wind farm venture will create 60 new jobs. The turbines will provide a non-‐farm revenue stream for 17 farming families, increase Council rate revenue by $850,000 per year ($21.25 million over 25 years), and contribute $340,000 per year to the Yarriambiack Shire Community fund.

! Industrial Land Provision and Industrial Estate Feasibility

Yarriambiack Shire has a shortage of serviced industrial land available for new or expanding businesses. Indeed, the Shire also has very limited areas, within the Planning Scheme, zoned for industrial use. An industrial estate feasibility assessment will be undertaken in order to make provision of serviced land, ahead of demand, in Warracknabeal, Hopetoun, Minyip and/or Murtoa. The feasibility assessment will be consistent with the urban growth plan for the selected town or towns.

! Community Enterprises Yarriambiack Shire hopes to be a regional Victorian leader in establishing sustainable community enterprises. Arguably there is nowhere more likely for community enterprises to succeed than in Yarriambiack. ‘We look after our own in the Wimmera’ has long been a local mantra, and there is an impressive track record to prove it. Council will provide leadership in the implementation of community based retail, hospitality and recreation enterprises (by assisting community groups in assessing projects, forming relationships with potential venture partners, and securing funds).

! Town Entrances, Streetscaping and Landscaping Council will design and construct attractive and consistent signage, central activities area streetscaping, and landscaping for town entrances, on an achievable and prioritised rollout schedule (over 3 to 5 years), commencing with the Shire’s largest centres (Warracknabeal, Murtoa, Hopetoun, Minyip and Rupanyup). These improvements are overwhelmingly consistent themes in the Yarriambiack towns current Community Plans and in feedback from the business community, to help in revitalising the towns.

Economic Development & Tourism Strategy 2015-2019 …Development Focus Yarriambiack Shire Council...

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Transcript of Economic Development & Tourism Strategy 2015-2019 …Development Focus Yarriambiack Shire Council...