Ballarat Heritage Watch hopes Heritage Victoria will step in to ensure Ballarat City Council cannot demolish the building.

The group's president Anne Beggs-Sunter said the Civic Hall was the only example of a 1950s public building in the modernist style in Ballarat.

Dr Beggs-Sunter said it was crucial the building was preserved.

In June Ballarat City Council endorsed a recommendation to demolish the building.

But Dr Beggs-Sunter said the community would be better served if the building was retained.

"In environmental terms, it's much better to adapt old buildings to new purposes rather than using all that energy in destroying it and using new materials to build it again," she said.

The building has not been used since 2002 although it was once a hub of activity for Ballarat residents. There is a heritage overlay in the precinct where the building is located but its historical significance is now under review.

Dr Beggs-Sunter said there was no deadline for Heritage Victoria to decide if the building should be added to the Heritage Register but she hoped a decision would be reached soon.

Although Ballarat City Council approved the recommendation to demolish the building, mayor Judy Verlin said she would welcome Heritage Victoria's input on the building.

Cr Verlin said any application to develop the site would be advertised publicly and the community consulted on the proposed uses and designs.

"Hopefully by going through this process now we'll be able to determine once and for all if the Civic Hall does have any historical or architectural merit," she said.