An opinion piece for the Ballarat Courier by Stuart Kelly

Civic Vandalism – Last Century

In the 1950s and 60s the push for ‘the modern’ resulted in Ballarat losing many magnificent two and three storey buildings.  Amongst these – the three storey building where Norwich Plaza now stands; the Commonwealth Bank on the corner of Lydiard Street; Tunbridges at Armstrong Street; the Davies building on the corner of Doveton Street; the AMP building in Lydiard Street; and a Gothic style building on the Bridge Street / Peel Street corner.  Many were replaced by non-descript buildings [or worse] which, while they degraded the immediate location, at least did not become overly prominent eyesores in views across the city.

About the same time the then Council ordered that all post-supported verandahs be demolished.  The National Trust fought to have a small number of cast iron verandahs exempted from this draconian bylaw – Reids Coffee Palace; Alexandra Tearooms; Old Colonists Club; George Hotel; Unicorn Hotel; Golden City Hotel and Craigs Hotel portico.  But most other buildings across the rest of the CBD were forced to remove their verandahs.

What Does the Future Hold for Ballarat?

Council’s recent decision to permit a six storey, strangely shaped, building on the corner of Armstrong and Mair Streets joins previous decisions in opening the way for a drastic reshaping of the historic heart of Ballarat.  This building is by the same architectural firm as the over-sized Gov Hub building which now dominates views from many points across the City.  Council has also approved a seven storey apartment complex for Lyons Street North and a six storey hotel in Doveton Street South.  Applications have been lodged for a seven storey hotel & five storey office building in Mair Street and seven & eight storey buildings in Humffray Street South.

In August Council approved changes to the planning scheme – removing existing height controls over buildings in Bridge Mall and replacing them with ‘preferred’ height limits which could allow buildings of seven storeys [or more].

Council will soon consider a draft Housing Strategy which proposes ‘generally supporting’ buildings of up to six storeys in several areas including Doveton Street South, Victoria Street, East Street and Barkly Street in Bakery Hill.  While there are some sites outside the immediate CBD which might accommodate taller buildings, most of the areas currently being proposed are not in this category.

A ‘tsunami’ of high rise buildings, as it was described by Professor Michael Buxton, would threaten to fundamentally change our CBD.  No longer would the towers of the Town Hall, Post Office and Station and church spires dominate views – instead they would be hidden behind a variety of buildings of questionable architectural quality.  I fear a future Ballarat in which a rash of Bolte Wing sized buildings, or higher, dominate the skyline.  Council studies of the important views within and across the city, and strategies to protect these, prepared in 2021 still remain in draft form, largely ignored by Council.

There appears to be a view by both councillors and officers that the city needs to accept higher buildings in order to attract developers.  This is evidenced by statements such as “Ballarat is growing UP”, with the emphasis on the word ‘UP,’ and in officers’ reports stating that while “heritage is a key consideration, it is not the only consideration.”

Clearly much of the Ballarat CBD could benefit by having new infill buildings replacing vacant sites or poorly designed and increasingly neglected mid 20th Century buildings.  However the proximity of these sites to heritage buildings requires new buildings to be of an appropriate scale – no more than three or four storeys.

Will future generations come to regard the current Council in the same way as we now view the Councils who presided over the destruction of the verandahs and beautiful buildings which feature so proudly in photos of Ballarat from early last Century?  I hope I am wrong, but recent actions by both Council and the State Government make me increasingly pessimistic about the futureof the buildings and streetscapes in Ballarat’s CBD.

Stuart Kelly, President Ballarat Heritage Watch Inc.