Yass Valley ABOUT THE REGION

Transcription

1 Yass Valley ABOUT THE REGION Located on the doorstep of the Nation s Capital, Yass Valley boasts a modern and well renowned food and wine scene, numerous education options, employment opportunities and medical and general services including a hospital, three large supermarkets, sporting facilities and housing opportunities well below the median house price of nearby Canberra. This combined with friendly, helpful locals, stunning landscapes and natural wonderlands contribute to why Yass Valley is capturing the interest of people wanting to live, work and invest within the region. DRIVING TIMES FROM YASS Canberra 1 hour Sydney airport 3 hours, 5 minutes Sydney CBD 3 hours, 20 minutes Port Kembla 2 hours, 40 minutes Melbourne CBD 6 hours, 13 mins RELOCATION CASE STUDY TESTIMONIALS FROM LOCALS Beatrice Beautiful, vibrant country town, rich in history with a gorgeous main street. Daniel We love living in Yass because of the great sense of community! It s a great place for our young family Page 1

2 Economic Snapshot POPULATION 16,628 POPULATION GROWTH SINCE % PROJECTED GROWTH TO % 21 GPs PER 10,000 PEOPLE YASS VALLEY $549,535K MEDIAN HOUSE PRICE $317,353K MEDIAN UNIT PRICE PEOPLE PLACES $1,879 PW MEDIAN WEEKLY HOUSEHOLD INCOME (2016) 2.6 % UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (SEPT 2017) 4,864 LOCAL JOBS 83% OF THE JOBS IN THE YASS VALLEY ARE DONE BY PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE LGA 2 PRIMARY SCHOOLS 1 COMBINED (K- YEAR 12) 1 HIGH SCHOOLS 1,719 BUSINESSES $28M ( ) VALUE OF BUILDING APPROVALS EXPORTS 2016 $497 GVA $301.5M GROSS VALUE ADDED 2016 (GVA) AGRICULTURE 21.2% MANUFACTURING 5.7% TOURISM & HOSPITALITY 5.6% EVERYTHING ELSE 67.4% PRODUCTS 3%* ECONOMIC GROWTH TOP 3 INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT - AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY & FISHING - ACCOMMODATION & FOOD SERVICES - RETAIL TRADE $50.9M TOURISM & HOSPITALITY SALES IN 2016 Page 2 *HEADLINE GROSS REGIONAL PRODUCT JUNE

3 Industries & Opportunities Yass Valley offers many business opportunities across the region for locals and newcomers to the area. The competitive advantage is location, just 45 minutes from Canberra, and three hours drive from Sydney, the area is very well connected at the junction of five main highways including the Hume and Federal Highways linking the region to Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. The Gross Regional Product (GRP) is $0.69 billion for Yass Valley, with the major importing sector being manufacturing and the major exporting sector being agriculture, forestry and fishing. Food and wine is a growth area for the region with data from a study undertaken by Tourism Research Australia noting that 12% of people interviewed listed the Canberra Wine District, of which Yass Valley is part, as a top NSW food and wine destination. A variety of industries have seen business success here including agriculture, food and wine, retail, hospitality, tourism and business services. Y TOURISM In , the total value of the tourism sector was $50.9 million. The sector contributes 211 full-time equivalent jobs across a range of accommodation, food service and recreational activity businesses. The region receives approximately 377,000 visitors annually with over 250,000 day visitors drawing from its locational advantage of nearby Canberra. Key sectors for the region s tourism industry include; food and wine, nature and outdoors, heritage and arts. The region is blessed with a vibrant and diverse events calendar with event clusters in the late summer-early autumn and spring seasons. Consistent with much of Regional NSW, a key market for Yass Valley is the visiting friends and relatives (VFR) market, accounting for over 30% of visitors to the region. Investment in the region s tourism industry has been strong over recent years with an increase in accommodation, attractions and food and beverage industries across the Yass Valley local government area. Of note is the 2018 addition of 50 rooms in the heart of wine country by the Abode Group Abode Murrumbateman. This property provides much needed tourism accommodation infrastructure to support the region s wine tourism industry. Yass Valley Council takes a proactive approach to supporting the region s tourism sector with a dedicated business unit providing destination information services, destination marketing, industry and product development. The region s tourism industry is supported by a Destination Management Plan (DMP) that aims to provide a pathway to develop the industry and drive the regions visitor economy. The DMP is a regional plan developed across the eight local government areas of the Canberra Region by Destination Southern NSW in conjunction with local tourism operators, local government, Visit Canberra and Destination NSW. Page 3

4 Industries & Opportunities AGRIBUSINESS In , the total value of agricultural output in Yass Valley was $250.8 million. The sector supports over 1,000 full-time equivalent jobs and generates over $30 million worth of international exports. The largest sectors within this industry were livestock slaughterings ($29M) and wool ($20M). Cereal and broad acre crops ($4M), vegetables ($3.7M) and hay ($2.8M) are also significant sectors ( ). The value of the wool industry and broadacre hay and cereal crops is steadily declining, however the value of vegetable productions has risen significantly in recent years. The increase in vegetable production is primarily driven by the development of two large mushroom farms. Wine grape production has levelled off somewhat and the number of wine grape growers has consolidated. However, there remains scope to increase wine grape production to meet increasing demand as the region s reputation for highquality cool-climate wine increases. Due to its proximity to Canberra and access to transport networks, Yass Valley is an ideal location for specialty and niche food and agricultural products. These enterprises could provide alternative employment for those currently commuting to Canberra as well as offer additional tourism experiences. Less than 10% of agricultural jobs in Yass Valley are in agricultural support services such as research, advisory services or input suppliers. However, again the proximity to Canberra and national research agencies such as CSIRO offer opportunities to host these types of organisations. Yass Valley could also offer warehousing and value-adding services for highvalue food products destined for export through the Canberra International airport. The South East Livestock Exchange (SELX) is testament to the region s strength as an agricultural centre, with the capacity to sell 3,800 cattle and 30,000 sheep on any given sale day. In its first year of operation, it generated $164 million of livestock sales. TOP 3 INDUSTRIES TOP 3 INDUSTRIES Page 4

5 Case Study CLEMENTINE is certainly the new darling of Yass Valley. This 50 seat European style bistro off the main street of Yass town, is situated in a unique weatherboard cottage and serves brunch and dinner Thursdays to Sundays. Owner operators Adam Bantock and Brooke Sainsbury can take full credit for the success it has achieved since it first opened in December So how did two ex Sydney-siders who had lived and worked in bustling Hong Kong and Shanghai come to create such a thriving restaurant in Yass? The short answer - they wanted lots of space. The long answer - they found their space. And they found it on a site close to Canberra, close to Sydney, in between Sydney and Melbourne, close to the South Coast, close to the snow, and the BIG bonus right in the middle of an emerging wine region. And then, there were the people. This pair did their research on the demographics of Yass Valley s population and felt that the high median income, the mix of older residents with the younger family demographic, plus the fact that it is an area that was, at the time, about to boom in terms of food and wine, would do just fine for Clementine. The pair now employ 14 staff and have established some wonderful relationships with quality local suppliers they source local honey, local pork and lamb and local wine. Clementine showcases only Canberra region wines on their wine list. Brooke and Adam are also raising their young children in Yass, and Brooke says she loves the great sense of community that the region offers. She s also converted her parents who have recently moved to Yass and enjoy local Rotary, art groups and Men s Shed activities. So, you could say that Yass Valley was a good find all round really. Page 5

6 Case Study MAJESTIC MUSHROOMS is a mushroom growing business located in Murrumbateman in Yass Valley and owner operators Ian and Helen Chu definitely aren t keeping us in the dark about their business success in the region. The couple bought their property in Murrumbateman ten years ago and started their mushroom growing business from scratch, building their climate controlled growing rooms, and producing about two to three tonnes of mushrooms each week. Skip forward just five years and they have expanded to produce 20 tonnes of handpicked White, Swiss Brown and Portobello mushrooms per week, employing around 15 staff who come from the local Yass Valley and Canberra regions. Their fresh fungi is now sold in Canberra at some of the best fruit and veg shops, markets, supermarkets and restaurants, as well as throughout NSW and Australia. Ian and Helen credit their success to having a good business plan, great connections, knowing their competitors, focusing on quality mushrooms and good customer service. Combining these elements that their ever-present commitment and dedication, Ian and Helen ensured they found a niche market in an area which is close to both Sydney and Canberra. Ian and Helen love Yass Valley and believe it s a great place to start a business and raise a family not too far from Canberra, beautiful rolling hills, great neighbours, plenty of wildlife some might say it s majestic. Page 6

7 Page 7

8 Notes, photo credits, references, contacts & acknowledgements NOTES FAST FACTS, REGIONAL SUMMARY AND ECONOMIC SNAPSHOTS Current population. These estimates for Local Government Areas (LGAs)are prepared by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)to correct for the Census under count and are updated annually. These are the closest to official estimates of resident population and are often used by State Government in allocating per capita funding to LGAs. Population Growth since Based on ABS Census data Projected population growth to Estimates are to 2036 and are prepared by ID and available under the Joint Organisation of Councils subscription. Median house & unit price. This data comes from local real estate agents and is based on property sales over the previous 12 months (January 2017-January 2018). Other data in the Economic Snapshots the Joint Organisation of Councils subscriptions to ID profiles or directly from 2016 census data. PHOTO CREDITS YASS Valley images courtesy of Yass Valley Council and Kim Nelson. REFERENCES (2017) (2017) (2018) abs.gov.au/websitedbs/d nsf/home/2016%20census%20community%20profiles (2018) economyprofile.com.au (2018) planning.nsw.gov.au/plans-for-your-area/regional-plans/south-east-and-tablelands/resources (2018) economy.id.com.au (2018) serree.org.au CONTACTS Yass Valley Council 209 Comur Street Yass NSW 2582 Phone: or Postal Address: PO Box 6, Yass NSW 2582 Regional Development Australia Southern Inland Shop 5, Central Arcade, Auburn Street Goulburn NSW 2580 Phone: Postal Address: PO Box 775, Goulburn NSW 2580 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Regional Development Australia Southern Inland (RDASI) would like to thank the NSW Government for their funding assistance in producing this report. We also thank the Yass Valley Council for their assistance. RDASI is an Australian Government Initiative. Prepared by Strategic Economic Solutions May Page 8