Hilltops Council has been told to investigate opportunities for a transport and logistics hub but not a service centre in the shire.
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The proposal is part of the Shire's new Freight and Transport Study put together by consultancy group PSA Consultancy and was also identified as part of the Hilltops Council Economic Action Plan.
The consultants said a service centre could take away from already established businesses in the shire and noted "it is understood that a service centre is proposed at Wallendbeen which will have a catchment that covers most of the Hilltops region".
They added that annual average daily traffic in Hilltops would have to increase for a service centre to be viable.
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"With the investment required to support a service centre of a scale that would be feasibly operated in Hilltops significantly higher annual average daily traffic would be required," the consultants said.
"Additionally, the spacing of townships and villages throughout Hilltops means that any service centre would be located within the catchment of existing businesses in those towns and villages and may have adverse economic impacts on the towns themselves.
"As a result, this Report has focused on developing criteria and investigating potential locations for a transport and logistics hub in the future which can ultimately support an improved supply chain for local businesses," they added.
In the local context of Hilltops, with the importance of efficient freight movements, PSA considered that a transport and logistics hub could be beneficial and support an improved supply chain if delivered in partnership with the industry.
Possible locations for the hub were:
- The Lachlan Valley Way, Boorowa
- The corner of Burley Griffin Way and Cunningar Road, Cunningar
- Crescent Street, Galong
- Saleyards Road, Harden
- Milvale Road, Milvale
- Corner of Burley Griffin Way and Wombat Road, Murrumburrah
- Henry Lawson Way, Young and;
- Milvale Road, Burrangong
"The feasibility of a transport and logistics hub is dependant on a number of factors, transport being only one significant factor which is the element that is the focus of this Report," PSA told Hilltops.
"A transport and logistics hub is a specific area where all activities relating to transport, logistics and goods distribution- both for national and international transit - are carried out, on a commercial basis, by various operators.
"The intent is that the hub is managed in such a way that it simplifies the process for getting products and produce to market with the aim of seamlessness and cost reduction."
In coming up with eight possible sites PSA said a particular focus was given to finding locations that have both rail and road transport access, or the potential for it in the future.
The full preliminary assessment for each location is provided in Appendix 7. Each location was assessed strategically against the criteria identified in Table 17 and rated as either able to meet the criteria or not.
The preliminary assessment found that locations with access to road and rail transport networks located in the central to southern part of the Shire performed more strongly than those with only road access and those close to the boundaries of the Shire.
As a result the locations at Cunningar, Harden and Murrumburrah performed well.
Other locations that performed well were located in proximity to Young with good access to the Olympic Highway and the potential to access rail transport if the Blayney to Demondrille Line is reopened.
