Local Planning Policy Framework - Moreland City Council

Central Coburg 2020 Background Report [ PHASE 1: Research and Analysis ]
In the 1991-1996 period in Coburg, there was a marked decline in the proportion of
workers employed in ‘Manufacturing’ (from 23% to 18%). Slight proportional
increases were recorded for ‘Construction’, ‘Wholesale and Retail Trade’, ‘Finance,
Property and Business Services’ and ‘Recreation Personal and Other Services’ over
the same period (refer to Table 10a).
2001 Census data for Employment by Industry is not yet available. Since 1996, there
has been a substantial (15%) increase in the number of businesses in Coburg.
Households
Whilst population declined in the 1991-1996 period by 699 (or 3%), the number of
households increased by 1.5% in the same period in Coburg. This coincided with an
increase in the proportion of one person households, which largely accounts for the
increase in households at a time of overall population decline.
Trends in household types reveal a proportional increase in ‘lone person households’
(from 21% to 24%) and a proportional decline in ‘couples and children’ (from 39% to
36%) type households over the 1991-1996 period in Coburg.
2001 Census data for household size and type in Coburg is not yet available, however
Melbourne-wide trends point towards smaller household sizes and lone-person
households.
Household income patterns in Coburg over the 1991-1996 period were stable. Data
on household income for 2001 for Coburg is not yet available.
In 1996, 40% of households Moreland-wide had annual incomes of less than $500 per
week, including 23% on less than $300 per week. The low incomes of many
Moreland householders are due to the fact that many residents receive all or part of
their income from government benefits. In December 1999, Moreland had:
19,261 age pensioners
5,969 disability support pensioners
456 carer pensioners
1,300 recipients of child disability allowance
2,266 sole parent pensioners
One indicator of welfare dependency is the level of children in families receiving
above the minimum levels of Family Allowance Supplement (FAS). In 1996, Coburg
had a very high proportion of children (52%) in families receiving the FAS.
An overview of this demographic information suggests that Coburg demonstrates a
trend towards gentrification. Gentrification may be signalled by the increasing
professionalisation of the workforce, increasing polarity of household incomes
(between high and low incomes), and increasing property values due to capital
improvement. Impacts of gentrification can include pressures on local socioeconomic
and cultural diversity within a neighbourhood population.
2.2 Planning and Land Use Analysis
Central Coburg Integrated Plan Planning and Land Use Analysis
Prepared by Moreland Strategic Planning Unit, October 2001
SNAPSHOT
Issues
? The CCIP is undertaken in the context of State Planning Policy.
? The current MSS provides a framework for direction of central Coburg and the
issues of urban villages, the Civic Precinct and Sydney Road.
? The land within central Coburg is subject to the Moreland Planning Scheme.
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