Case Studies

Background

For over 25 years, the City of Greater Bendigo (City) has successfully managed and operated the Bendigo Livestock Exchange (BLE) facility. Through careful management, the City has transformed the BLE into one of the largest exchanges in regional Victoria, overseeing over a million head of sheep annually.

The Bendigo Livestock Exchange Stakeholder Future Forum held in 2019, identified the need to construct a roof over the sheep yards to ensure the ongoing commercial viability of the BLE as a premier selling facility.  

Project Goals

To ensure that the BLE remains a leading player in Victoria’s agriculture sector, the CoGB intends to construct a roof over the selling yards. This will improve the welfare and working conditions for livestock and facility users by reducing exposure to extreme weather events. To evaluate the viability of this project, the City required a business case that considered the following: 

• The economic benefit of constructing the proposed roof structure, including employment generation. 

• Risks associated with annual sheep and lamb throughput numbers if the roof structure is not built. 

• The social impact for all users of the BLE. 

• Occupational Health and Safety impacts on sale yard personnel. 

• Legislative amendments to animal welfare at sale yards within Victoria. 

• Environmental benefits, including opportunities for solar energy and water harvesting. 

REMPLAN’s Involvement

REMPLAN was commissioned to complete a business case for the roof upgrade to determine: 

• The significance of and ongoing viability of the sheep sector in Victoria. 

• The project’s alignment with local and state government policies and objectives, including infrastructure investment, economic development, and sustainable agriculture practices.  

• The intended environmental and stakeholder objectives.  

• The impact of the current livestock exchange operation on the Greater Bendigo economy, the economic consequence of a reduction in livestock throughput where no investment occurs, and the economic benefit of the construction and subsequent increase in throughput post-roof installation.  

• The City’s resources, capabilities, and capacities, along with the quantitative and qualitative reasons for directing public funding towards this investment.  

Results

Advocacy from political parties was received.

The economic assessment estimates that construction will generate $21.7 million in output, support 45 jobs, and add $6.4 million in value-added. Post-construction operations are estimated to support $4.4 million in output, 14 jobs, and $2.3 million in value-added.