Employment Lands Strategy adopted

Published on 29 January 2025

Murray River Council has this week endorsed its new Employment Lands Strategy.

The Strategy offers a summary of the issues and opportunities associated with ‘employment land’ (areas that are generally zoned for industrial or commercial purposes) in the Murray River Council local government area.

It explores population trends, residential housing growth expectations and identifies strategies and actions to ensure a range of developable employment land is available to meet projected demand and provide for future local jobs.

Mayor, John Harvie said the Strategy offers a foundation for Council to exercise strong leadership in land-use planning and facilitate future growth in employment/business lands across our area.

“The Council has experienced extraordinary demand for new housing due to lifestyle relocations, driving the need for population-serving facilities and employment-generating services.”

“With the population projected to continue to increase over the next 20 years there is now a need to identify how the employment precincts and centres across the LGA can effectively respond to this growth.”

“This strategy compliments our growing suite of development strategies and tools - both from a planning and economic development perspective,” he said,

The strategy provides an overview of current planning policy contexts, identifies commercial and employment land supply, profiles each local and strategic commercial and employment land, investigates land demand, and provides recommendations on land supply and planning controls to address any gaps or shortfalls.

Key findings highlighted in the strategy include:

• The population of the Murray River LGA grew by 16% between 2011 and 2021, with Moama experiencing a 72.6% growth.

• Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing remain the largest employment sectors but there is a significant increase in Health Care and Social Assistance due to an aging population. Therefore, the region has seen a shift in industry focus, with construction, healthcare, and public administration growing rapidly.

• The LGA has approximately 818 hectares of zoned employment land, with 601 hectares developed and 217 hectares available for development. Employment land demand modelling indicates the need for additional developed employment land by 2041, but there is a surplus of undeveloped zoned land to accommodate this requirement.

• Opportunities for growth include agriculture, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, and tourism-related developments.

• Challenges include a shortage of industrial land in key areas, infrastructure constraints, and the need for streamlined planning processes to attract investment.

Consultation has been undertaken with businesses, industries, agencies, and peak organisations to inform development of the Strategy.

The final Employment Lands Strategy will be available on council’s website.