Inside Greater Bendigo's draft industrial land development strategy

A draft industrial land development strategy suggests a number of properties zoned residential are suitable for industrial use.

The city has identified the potential for 72.5 hectares of land in Golden Square to be considered for industrial purposes.

Parts of the precinct have 'not been utilised to their full potential', according to the accompanying report.

The city has recommended residential intensification of properties in and around the area be discouraged.

Golden Square's precinct is one of 21 clusters of potential development in the draft strategy.

Precincts have also been identified at Goornong, Huntly, Epsom, Bendigo East, Junortoun, Heathcote, Bendigo North, Long Gully, California Gully, Eaglehawk, Specimen Hill, Kangaroo Flat, and Big Hill.

While Marong features in the strategy, the land within the five hectare precinct has been recommended for residential rezoning.

Land belonging to the Carter family, which the city unsuccessfully pursued for its proposed Marong Business Park, does not factor into the plans.

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The city has suggested 14 properties along the Golden Square precinct's south-west boundary be rezoned from residential to industrial.

The largest property is already partially zoned industrial.

The railway runs along the precinct's western boundary. Ham Street defines the south-west edge.

The city has also recommended zoning anomalies within the precinct be addressed, some of which would see parcels of land used for industrial purposes zoned as such.

Greater Bendigo faces increasing demand for industrial land, and a supply shortage that grows more pressing with each passing year.

TWENTY-ONE precincts have been identified as the City of Greater Bendigo seeks to meet demand for industrial land.

The city sees opportunities to develop land in a number of Bendigo suburbs.

Goornong and Heathcote are also among the areas key to the proposed plan.

The draft Greater Bendigo Industrial Land Development Strategy makes suggestions for each of 21 precincts.

Industrial land opportunities are scattered throughout the municipality, instead of concentrated at a key site.

The city proposes to contact the owners of land it considers suitable by August 2. Submissions on the strategy are open until then, via the city's website and offices.

The city previously had its hopes pinned on a site it referred to as the Marong Business Park, but failed in its attempt to forcibly acquire the land from the Carter family.

The draft strategy notes 313 hectares of land previously considered suitable has not been factored into the plan, "as it is understood to be unavailable for industrial development".

Industrial land is subsequently limited to 5.1 hectares west of the Marong town centre. The land has been recommended for rezoning, from industrial to general residential.

Some limitations have been identified in relation to industrial land development opportunities in Bendigo East - the precinct the city, in its Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme, preferenced for industrial investment and expansion.

While the city says there is some underutilised and vacant land in the 304.5 hectare precinct, there is some development underway.

Earthworks will be required in some areas. There are also flooding, residential, environmental and bushfire risk considerations.

The city says there is potential for a business park at the Bendigo Airport.

"Additional flights are expected to make this proposition more desirable," the background report states.

Further planning is recommended, to provide greater direction about industrial land development prospects in Bendigo East.

A 6.7 hectare site in Bendigo East has been declared a precinct in its own right - 'Charleston Road'. The city plans to further engage with land owners in the precinct. The draft strategy identifies issues with the area's industrial zoning, and suggests rezoning to commercial land. The city has recommended industrial development in the area be discouraged.

Document: Draft Greater Bendigo Industrial Land Development Strategy

Prospects for the 125.6 hectares of land the city has flagged for potential industrial development at Goornong are favourable.

The land,about 30 kilometres north-east of central Bendigo and east of the Goornong town centre, is outside the urban growth boundary.

Sites within the precinct are large, flat, and are easily accessible to B-double trucks. Most of the necessary infrastructure is already there. The city proposes to keep recommending the precinct to rural industries.

This 48.8 hectare precinct is best known as the site of the Bendigo Livestock Exchange. The livestock exchange takes up about a quarter of the area.

The site is also home to a solar energy facility, which spans about a hectare. But the city says the rest of the precinct is 'largely underutilised'.

Most of the land seems suitable for industrial intensification, as it's not near any residential or sensitive uses and has critical infrastructure services and transportation links. The city has, however, identified some potential contamination.

Further strategic work has been recommended, along with an investigation into the potential to better use vacant land at the livestock exchange.

The city proposes to speak with Coliban Water about prospects to expand the precinct into the adjacent land, which the water authority owns, if needed.

The draft strategy identifies several opportunities in the Epsom area. The city classes 22 hectares between Epsom and Huntly as 'Epsom North'. A 54.1 hectare parcel of land in the town centre, fronting the Midland Highway to the east, is dubbed 'Epsom'. A 5.8 hectare site in the town centre, fronting the Midland Highway to the west and Howard Street to the north, is 'Epsom South'. And there are two parcels of land, measuring 16.3 hectares and 12.2 hectares respectively, known as 'Epsom South-West'.

The city is rethinking the 'Epsom North' precinct's suitability for industrial land development. An upcoming settlement strategy is expected to clarify the area's role.

The city is contemplating whether to zone part of the land in the 'Epsom' precinct commercial. The land around the precinct has many and varied uses, presenting a number of challenges. Some of the land inside the precinct is culturally sensitive.

An artisan or makers precinct could be ahead for 'Epsom South', which is next to Bendigo Pottery and the Epsom Activity Centre. Bendigo Pottery itself is not zoned industrial, but factors into the plans because of its location and 'longstanding industrial use'. Most of the 5.8 hectare precinct is already fully developed.

There are a number of challenges to using the two sites in 'Epsom South-West' for industrial development, including vegetation, cultural heritage sensitivity and nearby homes.

Land in a number of suburbs that featured in the city's industrial strategy in 2002 have since become less suitable, with recommendations that industrial land be scaled back or reclassified.

Affected suburbs include Bendigo North, California Gully, Eaglehawk, Junortoun, and parts of Kangaroo Flat. The situation in Big Hill is growing complex.

An 11.7 hectare precinct has been identified in Heathcote, to be further considered as part of ongoing town planning.

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