Vol. No. Vol. 2618No. 2827
FREE PUBLICATION
A FREE PUBLICATION FROM YOUR LOCAL RADIO STATIONS 3WM AND MIXXFM
Wednesday, January January 24, 13, 2024 2016 Wednesday,
FIRST-DAY EXCITEMENT: Aubree Schnaars, 5, is starting foundation at Nhill College next week and will join seven classmates as the school’s newest students. Aubree is excited to be a ‘big kid’ at school and spending more time with her friends Charlize and Aniya. She has plans to work at an ice-cream factory when she grows up. Back to School feature, pages 19-25. Picture: PAUL CARRACHER
Driving investment A
BY ABBY WALTER
new 16-lot subdivision contains the largest industrial blocks Horsham has seen on the market – and it is attracting interest.
Harcourts Horsham director Mark Clyne said the Kenny Road blocks, ranging from 4685 to 11,400 squaremetres, were meeting a demand for new businesses to establish themselves in the municipality, and allowing existing businesses to expand. He said eight blocks were already on hold or under contract after going on the market before Christmas, with interest expected to increase in February.
“The subdivision caters for bigger businesses, so we have kept the blocks at a larger capacity for transport movements including B-double and potentially road train access,” he said. “The purpose of that is to attract some bigger players into Horsham or allow existing businesses to expand, which then creates extra employment opportunities and caters for the demand. “A lot of the existing industrial estates are 30 to 50 years-old, so do not meet modern requirements.” Mr Clyne said his team often fielded inquiries for industrial land, particularly in the past three years.
“There might not be any industrial subdivisions available after this lot for another two to three years, so we’re still hamstrung there,” he said. “With some of the announcements that could be made this year, with value-adding in the grain and mineral sands industries, we want to make sure we can supply land.” Mr Clyne said industrial land in Horsham was good value, and the subdivision would be first-class. “It will be fully serviced with threephase power, sewerage and town water, and meet all drainage requirements,” he said. “In Horsham, these blocks will prob-
ably average $120 a square-metre, whereas in Ballarat the rates are about $400 to $600 a square-metre and Melbourne is between $1000 and $1600 a square-metre for industrial land. “We are still very good value, which is why some of these companies, if they can do business in Horsham, want to set up here – where they have a good workforce and a central base.” Mr Clyne said a healthy and vibrant industrial sector was a vital part of the community and economy. “A lot of people judge the health of Horsham based on how many shops are full or empty in the main street, but I can assure people the prosper-
ity of Horsham at the moment is all occurring in the industrial and commercial areas,” he said. “The industrial estates are one of our biggest employment drivers now, which wasn’t the case years ago, and the incomes that are generated there are not on the lower end of the scale. “There’s serious money generated in that sector, which hopefully gets spent back in our town with our retailers – that’s what we want.” Mr Clyne, also chair of WestVic Business, said the Wimmera had lots of potential and was in the best position to capitalise on that, now. Continued page 3
IN THIS ISSUE • Men’s mental health focus • Australia Day awards • Horsham cricket resumes Phone: 03 5382 1351 Read it online: www.theweeklyadvertiser.com.au
•
•
•
•
AUDITED: 21,534 COPIES October 2022 to September 2023
•
Source: AMAA; CAB Total Distribution Audit for further information visit www.auditedmedia.org.au
KMART SPOTLIGHT BEST AND LESS REJECT SHOP WIDE RANGE OF SPECIALTY STORES WWW.HORSHAMPLAZA.COM.AU