Season for a read
BENDIGO’S residential Strategy will be reviewed because of greater than expected growth.
The State Government has announced a grant of $50,000 to carry out the review.
The review is needed because, according to the State Government, 40 per cent of the forecast growth between 2006 and 2031 had already been realised.
Regional Development Parliamentary Secretary Damian Drum made the announcement this morning.
Mr Drum said the Bendigo Residential Strategy Review would deliver greater community and investor certainty, helping the region grow.
“The Bendigo Residential Development Strategy was adopted in 2004 and is currently being audited because of the faster than anticipated growth that has occurred in Bendigo in recent years,” he said.
“Strong residential growth has many flow-on economic benefits and having a clear framework for future development will position Greater Bendigo City Council to undertake more detailed, place-based planning in the future.”
Deputy Premier Peter Ryan said about 40 per cent of the forecast growth between 2006 and 2031 had already been realised.
The Residential Strategy impacts directly on where and how property developments use “infill” parcels of land, range of housing styles and also on housing affordability.
“This project will review the strategy, assess current and estimated land supply and demand and consider various legislative and policy changes,” Mr Ryan said,
“It will also consider the latest demographic data and establish a new strategic framework to guide the long-term residential growth of Greater Bendigo.
“The project will result in a revised residential strategy that will give developers, the community and service providers greater surety and confidence about where land can be developed for residential purposes, and that sufficient land is available to accommodate the City of Greater Bendigo’s future growth.”
Mr Ryan said a contemporary strategic planning framework was essential to the economic development of a large regional centre like Bendigo.
“Clearly identifying future growth options and supporting infrastructure needs will enable the Greater Bendigo City Council and other infrastructure providers to plan their capital works programs well in advance,” he said.
“Identifying long-term growth areas will enable the council and other service authorities to start planning for the delivery of services, thereby minimising the lag time between when residential development occurs and when the services need to be in place.”
Rosemary Sorensen | Bendigo Weekly | 16-Dec-2011 4.58pm
Troubling as the arrival of ebooks is for books and publishing, there has never been a better time for reading.
Where once people who live in the country had only a fraction of the access city people have to both new publications and old, now, we are linked in to libraries, bookshops and publishers everywhere.
You can sit on a hill, surrounded by sheep and gumtrees, and download a digital copy of a new release more often than not for about $12. The digital copy is not nearly as good as a book but there it is, instantly.
It’s miraculous.
Those who read all the time will know all this: they know too about the battle in Australia to bring down the price of books.
It is slowly happening, despite the fact the jury is still out on whether parallel importing (which means opening the gates to overseas editions of bestsellers) will damage Australian publishing. Discounting is becoming the norm.
At Christmas, however, we have an opportunity to give and receive a book that’s a little special, a hardback novel or a beautiful garden book, something to keep on the shelf as a reminder of not just what’s inside the book but also the person who gave it to you. And because our Christmas season is also our summer holidays, a bookgift is more often than not met with a smile: only those who have forgotten the pleasure – the deep, positive, creamy pleasure – of a book will not welcome such a gift. It is the one time of the year we feel we can find time to read.
There are people who set out at the beginning of the holiday season with a reading project: the Man Booker prize winners from the last decade, War and Peace, the entire Harry Potter series or (better still) Lord of the Rings.
For a nifty gift, or for yourself, a good place to start if you are a little stuck for choice is
the Popular Penguins series, which now has 100s of books
in the classic orange jacket at $10 a pop. A stack of these, and you’re heading for interesting times.
This is our last Bookclub before Christmas and for this year; we’ll be back in the new year, with book news, new writing (including selections from Scribe Young Writers), and reviews, including a Pick of the Week from John Morrow.
You can join the Bendigo Weekly Bookclub, to receive weekly emails with special offers, event information and other news at bookclub@bendigoweekly.com.au
BENDIGO’S residential Strategy will be reviewed because of greater than expected growth.
The State Government has announced a grant of $50,000 to carry out the review.
The review is needed because, according to the State Government, 40 per cent of the forecast growth between 2006 and 2031 had already been realised.
Regional Development Parliamentary Secretary Damian Drum made the announcement this morning.
Mr Drum said the Bendigo Residential Strategy Review would deliver greater community and investor certainty, helping the region grow.
“The Bendigo Residential Development Strategy was adopted in 2004 and is currently being audited because of the faster than anticipated growth that has occurred in Bendigo in recent years,” he said.
“Strong residential growth has many flow-on economic benefits and having a clear framework for future development will position Greater Bendigo City Council to undertake more detailed, place-based planning in the future.”
Deputy Premier Peter Ryan said about 40 per cent of the forecast growth between 2006 and 2031 had already been realised.
The Residential Strategy impacts directly on where and how property developments use “infill” parcels of land, range of housing styles and also on housing affordability.
“This project will review the strategy, assess current and estimated land supply and demand and consider various legislative and policy changes,” Mr Ryan said,
“It will also consider the latest demographic data and establish a new strategic framework to guide the long-term residential growth of Greater Bendigo.
“The project will result in a revised residential strategy that will give developers, the community and service providers greater surety and confidence about where land can be developed for residential purposes, and that sufficient land is available to accommodate the City of Greater Bendigo’s future growth.”
Mr Ryan said a contemporary strategic planning framework was essential to the economic development of a large regional centre like Bendigo.
“Clearly identifying future growth options and supporting infrastructure needs will enable the Greater Bendigo City Council and other infrastructure providers to plan their capital works programs well in advance,” he said.
“Identifying long-term growth areas will enable the council and other service authorities to start planning for the delivery of services, thereby minimising the lag time between when residential development occurs and when the services need to be in place.”
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