Strange Bedfellows
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.”
| Bendigo Weekly | 19-May-2011 4.35
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Rotarians John Jones and Howard Osbourne
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Groups of semi-clad muscly men tossing each other around the ring in a theatrical haze, versus groups of civic-minded men congregating around a table in service to the community.
In theory they may be at odds, but on reflection wrestling and Rotary might share a certain kind of symmetry.
Something John James from the Eaglehawk Rotary Club – immediate past president and Director of New Generations youth program – must have also figured when approached about staging a stadium-size wrestling match in Bendigo, as a fundraiser.
Sure enough, Wrestling For Rotary is happening on June 11 at Bendigo Exhibition Centre.
You might have seen the posters around town, particularly the giant one plastered inside the front window of a fast-food outlet in Lansell Plaza.
That’s the thing about wrestling; it has no shame. It’s by the people for the people – and guess what? The people love it.
Even though it is one of the most successful sports entertainments on the planet, wrestling is relegated to that of a subculture.
Something with which John James heartily disagrees. This man has done his research.
Interviewed recently on ABC Radio, John said 12,000 people in the Bendigo region listed wrestling as an interest on their Facebook pages.
Ka’ching. The penny drops.
“Eaglehawk Rotary works really hard,” he said.
“We support a lot of different programs and they cost quite a bit to fund”.
He’s hoping to fill the the Exhibition Centre with 2000 people – corporate boxes too – in order to raise the thousands of dollars needed to fund their various youth programs.
One of their programs, for example, is the ROSE Program, which supports Thai orphans living in Bendigo.
“We get a really good deal from Girton,” he said of the grammar school where they go to school.
“But it still costs $20,000 a year to feed, house and clothe the kids who come out – we’d have to do a helluva lot of sausage sizzles to raise that kind of money.” he said.
Enter wrestling and blind ambition; Wrestling For Rotary might just work, especially with those kind of “like” statistics.
The promoters have gone to some trouble to secure high-profile names too: most of the wrestlers coming to Bendigo have done their time with Vince McMahon’s WWE promotion – U-Gene, Paul London, Jimmy Yang, Ironman Rob Conway and Serena among them.
Seven bouts over three hours, tag teams and a three-man match are billed.
The night will also showcase Australian wrestlers, who, may I say after many years of filming local matches for a doco I made about a devoted wrestling fan – can give as good as their US counterparts.
Wrestling For Rotary is an exclusive for Bendigo, aimed at those who can’t get to the city for the big shows – but John is also hoping “people from Melbourne will travel”.
It’s a shrewd move by John to contemporise Rotary’s fundraising strategy – and image – by bringing wrestling into New Generations.
It’s not just about art exhibitions and craft markets any more; people love watching spectacles in stadiums – the bigger, more colourful and bolder the better.
And best, Wrestling For Rotary has the potential to bring a whole new generation into awareness of what it is to be in service to the community – something many reckon we’ve lost.
As Jack Little used to say, with a bit of luck “they’ll be hanging from the rafters”.
Wrestling For Rotary, Saturday June 11, 7.30pm to 10.30pm, Bendigo Exhibition Centre, Prince Of Wales Showgrounds. Doors open 6pm. www.wrestlingforrotary.eaglehawkrotary.org
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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