Each year Bellingen Shire Council produces an economic profile of the Shire designed to assist business and the community to gain an understanding and overview of the Shire from a statistical point of view.
Located on the North Coast of New South Wales, Bellingen Shire Council covers an area of 1,604 square kilometers. It is approximately 500 kilometers north of Sydney and 400 kilometers south of Brisbane.
The Shire is home to just over 13,000 people who enjoy an enviable mix of plateau, valley and coastal environments. Its main towns are Bellingen, Dorrigo, Urunga and Mylestom.
Bellingen Shire is a lifestyle region with an emphasis on cultural vibrancy, liveability and social cohesion. It has diverged over the years and is now a mix of traditional and non traditional farming. It also has a strong small manufacturing sector as well as education and training, health services and retailing.
Many of today’s residents are artists, craftspeople, writers, musicians and horticulturalists, having established home based activities.
Tourism is strengthened by the fantastic climate, a stunning environment, café, market and festival culture and access to a wide range of tourism and recreational opportunities.
Bellingen’s 2010 Profile was released in October.
“These statistics create a demographic and economic snap shot of the Shire and give potential investors an opportunity to see all areas of growth and changing conditions which exist within the area,” said Mayor Mark Troy. “Change is all around us and these statistics give an indication of the movement within sectors both up and down over the last 12 months.”
Some highlights from the 2010 Profile include:
- solid annual population growth of 1.2 per
cent, the fifth year of consecutive positive
and increasing population growth - significant annual fall of 1.9 percentage
points in the unemployment rate to a level
of 6.7 per cent - substantial increase in non residential
building approvals over the year to
the June quarter 2010, to a level of $11.8
million. - solid annual growth in mean taxable
income for the region in recent years,
at a similar pace to the rest of New South
Wales.
President of the Bellingen Chamber of Commerce, Guy Saddleton said on behalf of all the Chambers of Commerce, he congratulates Council on providing the leadership in producing these very valuable statistics.
“They are an extremely useful tool for all business inside and outside the Shire when making decisions which affect their future development,” he said.
Copies of the 2010 Profile are available on Council’s website at www.bellingen.nsw.gov.au
For further information contact Stuart Allardice, Manager Economic Development and Tourism, on (02) 6655 7306.
