Ballarat Heritage Watch Inc.

(formerly Ballarat Citizens for Thoughtful Development Inc., established 1998)

Annual Report 2019

“There is no reason to think that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens cannot change the world; indeed that’s the only thing that ever has.”                                                                           Margaret Mead

It is twenty one years since Ballarat Citizens for Thoughtful Development was founded. Then the immediate challenge was unsympathetic townhouse developments. Today the challenge comes from Ballarat’s booming population growth, with a 60% increase in population mooted for 2040, and estimates of possibly 200,000 people by 2050. The historic heart of Ballarat is coming under increasing development pressures, and height limits loom as a major issue.

Development pressures have led to a number of unsympathetic developments over the past year, which we have opposed either fully or in part. These include the Health and Knowledge Precinct Plan, which originally suggested high rise residential developments in heritage precincts around the hospital. This Precinct plan is an ongoing development. The Sturt Street Gardens, and the proposal to put a cycle path down the centre of the gardens, has exercised much debate in the community, in the press and at Council, and plans are still unresolved at this point. We hope however to see the Sturt Street Gardens protected by being added to the Victorian Heritage Register in the not too distant future. Special thanks to Stuart Kelly, Mary Debrett, Marle Hathaway and Daryl Cloonan for their effective lobbying in this issue.

We made submissions to Council on the redevelopment of the North Star Hotel, the old Humffray St. State School, the Haymes Paint block near the Eastern Oval, the proposed lighting of the Lake Wendouree walking/cycling track, and a development affecting Montrose Cottage. Whilst the City’s heritage officers made reports on all these projects, it was alarming to find that so many decisions are being made at council officer level, without the issue going to Council.

One issue that did go to Council involved plans to re-develop Ballarat College’s buildings in adjoining residential streets, and it was heartening to see the arguments of residents against the plan prevail at Council level.

One development to be celebrated this year is the restoration and repurposing of the Gatekeeper’s Cottage, which had been threatened with demolition for years. Finally it was moved back to the Gardens and has been beautifully restored as an education facility for the Friends of the Ballarat Botanical Gardens.

Another cause for celebration was the re-opening of the Civic Hall on 2 March, with the Begonia Ball, which a number of us attended. The interior restoration and redecoration is impressive, and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra sounded wonderful at their concert in October.  Unfortunately the lower Civic Hall has gone in the new Gov Hub works, but the Civic Hall is back to life with a wide variety of events now scheduled. We noted with concern that the Gov Hub building had been put up for sale, but the tender was withdrawn yesterday. It is very much our policy that Crown Land should be retained in public hands. We salute Merle Hathaway, Barbara Cytowicz and the Save Civic Hall group for their tireless efforts on behalf of the Civic Hall, taking up the fight that we began in 2010 with our unsuccessful attempt to get the Civic Hall included on the Victorian Heritage Register.

I have represented our organisation on the Ballarat  Heritage Advisory Committee at its bi-monthly meetings, and also on the Management Sub-Committee.   In addition Barbara Cytowicz  and Darryl Cloonan are members of the Management Sub-Committee, and Stuart Kelly has attended a number of meetings. Samantha McIntosh did a wonderful job as chair of the Heritage Advisory Committee, and during the year she particularly championed the bid for World Heritage Listing of the Victorian Goldfields, a project bringing together Ballarat and Bendigo and 10 rural shires. In October a new mayor of Ballarat was elected in Ben Taylor, and we hope that Samantha will be able to continue her role as heritage champion at Council.

It has been good to see the City putting extra resources into heritage at both statutory and strategic levels. Annabel Neylon is now the Heritage Advisor, with John Dyke looking after landscape issues within the Strategic area, especially with an important skyline study which aims to protect views and vistas of the city. Susan Fayed and Catherine McLeay continue working on areas associated with HUL and particularly the World Heritage bid. These officers continue to be involved with the administration of the heritage grants program.

The Ballarat Railway Precinct has seen much redevelopment, after our campaign to stop the apartment block failed, in spite of a vigorous campaign by the Save Our Station committee. We continue to campaign for the sympathetic maintenance of the railway train hall, and the best means of giving all-abilities access to the platforms without negatively impacting the heritage of the station. We are still waiting and watching the proposed restoration of the Goods Shed.

The redevelopment of Bakery Hill has been a matter of much discussion, with Council allocating millions of dollars to redevelopment of the Mall and its immediate environs. We have also seen activity behind St. Paul’s Church with the residential development about to proceed, albeit with changes to the plans, to reduce the number of apartments and increase the number of townhouses.

The Ballarat Saleyards site is a matter of great interest for its redevelopment potential, and no doubt will be an important matter for 2020. As the city grows, La Trobe St. has become the geographic centre of the city, and the saleyards site offers great potential. . The heritage officers have recommended small precincts within the large area that should be given heritage protection.

Our Committee has met monthly at the Old Colonists’ Club throughout the year. Special thanks to our very efficient Secretary Penny Greenslade, Treasurer Dinah McGance, to Vice-President  Stuart Kelly, who has been very active attending Council meetings and making detailed submissions. Our Facebook page has been very lively, and we have attracted many new followers. My thanks to Merle Hathaway and Lorraine Huddle for monitoring the site, and to all the regular contributors, especially Mary Debrett. Thanks to all our committee members Jenny Sorrell and Bernadette Cheesman who have taken every opportunity to promote Ballarat’s heritage.

It will be an interesting year ahead, seeing the directions set by the new Mayor, and the impact of Ballarat’s continuing rapid growth.

Anne Beggs-Sunter, President