Rural Strategy - Surf Coast Shire

Surf Coast Shire Rural Strategy Review
Final Report
9.5 Agriculture
Agriculture has continued to grow as an economic sector in the Shire but the makeup of the
industries has and continues to move from traditional broadacre cropping, grazing and
dairying to more intensive uses being the most economically significant.
There is potential for an expansion of soil and shed based irrigated horticulture utilising
recycled water from the Black Rock Wastewater Treatment Plant. This would be focused on
the area between Torquay and Mount Duneed. Any shed based agriculture needs to be
carefully sited to preserve landscape values.
The preferred location for intensive animal industries is in the northern area of the Shire to
build on existing businesses, preserve landscapes and minimise impacts on other land
users.
Planning controls are necessary to support the ongoing use of land for agriculture by
maintaining land parcels in larger lots, minimising the potential for conflict between
agriculture and other uses and ensuring that land is retained to capitalise on opportunities
for agriculture in the future.
9.6 Tourism
Tourism is a major economic sector within the Shire and traditionally has focused on the
coast and the Great Ocean Road. Tourism in Surf Coast is broadening its focus and seeks
to capitalise on the environmental and landscape values of the rural hinterland for nature
based tourism.
Tourist facilities in the farming areas of the Shire should generally be of a small scale that do
not compromise the agricultural use of the land. They should also of be of a nature and
sited to avoid conflict with existing rural uses, preserve the rural landscapes and
environmental values, avoid loss of high quality agricultural land, and be in close proximity to
existing townships. Tourism facilities should generally be discouraged from the prime
farming areas, particularly in areas with an open rural landscape.
It is the recommendation of this rural review that there is an opportunity to accommodate
modest scale tourism in appropriate rural locations and facilitated via the application of Rural
Activity Zone. In this context, the review identifies appropriate locations for the application of
the Rural Activity Zone in the vicinity of Deans Marsh and south west of Bellbrae between
Gundrys Road and the Great Ocean Road (Appendix 1 details the approach to identification
of locations for application of the Rural Activity Zone).
The preferred mix of uses in the Rural Activity Zone in these localities includes:
Agriculture;
Tourist and recreational activities;
Group accommodation associated with tourist or recreational activities (including
backpacker accommodation, camping and caravan park, cabins, residential motel etc);
and
Restaurant, but only in association with a tourist / recreational activity.
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