The Greater Shepparton City Council and the Chamber of Commerce are feeling positive about the business outlook for 2020 despite the gruelling impact of the drought.
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Manager of economic development Anthony Nicolaci said council intended to work closely with the chamber to look at innovative ways to improve the CBD in 2020.
“We have small business grants available, but we’ve changed the guidelines to only allow grants for businesses located in the CBD or the main street of the small towns in the Shepparton region,” he said.
Mr Nicolaci said events such as Culture Corner and Kids Space were part of council's plan to bring foot traffic back to the area.
“In general, 2020 is expected to be another really positive year for the region,” he said.
“We’ve seen unemployment fall from 6.5 per cent in June 2018 to 4.8 per cent in June 2019.”
There are a number of projects that will have a positive impact on the economy, such as the $230 million Goulburn Valley Health redevelopment and the construction of the $49.9 million Shepparton Art Museum and the $120 million Greater Shepparton Secondary College.
Businesses will welcome the opening of Cannatrek's $160 million cannabis farm, and Goulburn Valley Fruit will unveil a $55 million processing and packaging plant.
The area is set to see large-scale industry expansion similar to recent developments with Cannatrek.
“It (the Cannatrek farm) is slated towards a 2020 opening but they’re currently going through their process planning and development phase,” Mr Nicolaci said.
“The GV Health expansion is a major boost for employment in the region.”
He said the council had marketing plans in place to address the problems the region had in attracting workers to fill skilled jobs.
“The next phase of the council’s ‘great things happen here’ campaign will focus on lifestyles and careers in the region,” Mr Nicolaci said.
“Hopefully it will shine a light on Shepparton as a great place to live, work and play.”
In relation to the drought, Mr Nicolaci said the town had become incredibly resilient over the past decade and would continue to grow.
“We hope to continue a trend of lifestyle businesses opening up things like the breweries, and food eateries like Schnitz are breathing life into our CBD and showing positivity in the region,” he said.
Chamber president John Anderson said businesses were “definitely” feeling the effects of the drought.
“There is a concern about water; however, it is not as dire as the situation in NSW,” he said.
Looking forward to 2020 Mr Anderson said the infrastructure projects were set to bring jobs to the area.
“There have been a number of road works and construction projects happening around town too,” he said.
“It’s remarkable to see how many new businesses and commercial premises have been developed along Doyle St.”
Mr Anderson said Shepparton had trouble filling skilled jobs.
“I know people in the mental health sector are having great difficulty recruiting psychologists; graduates seem too city-centric,” he said.
“Those who do (move here) usually have a good and affordable life.”
Mr Anderson encouraged people to shop locally.
“Especially in retail, if it is something you can easily purchase in Shepparton, we hope people resist the temptation to shop online or while they’re out of town,” he said.
“The retail shops that you purchase from may not be there in the future, which means a loss of jobs for small businesses in that sector.”
Mr Anderson said interest rates were low and while people had not necessarily received the cuts in their home loans he said it gave small businesses a “bit of room” to negotiate with banks on their repayments.
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