BALLARAT mayor Mark Harris has said that no decision would automatically flow from the results of the Civic Hall survey, released yesterday.
But Cr Harris said he felt the survey reflected what the community wanted.
“It’s all fairly instructive but it’s not designed to be a plebiscite,” Cr Harris said. “There’s no decision that flows from it.”
The two reports released on the Ballarat City Council’s website yesterday morning showed that more than 60 per cent of Ballarat residents surveyed were opposed to the dumped Civic Hall project.
A majority of respondents to the community study also disliked the proposed design and price tag of the $40 million redevelopment and believed it would only benefit the council and its employees.
The City of Ballarat released two studies into the project. Completed by Roy Morgan Research, the studies gauged support for three options.
It found that 63.2 per cent of those questioned indicated opposition to demolishing the Civic Hall and building a new council facility, while 34.4 per cent were in favour of the proposal, which was abandoned at December’s council meeting.
Asked if the council was to propose that the 1950s building be retained and reused, 72 per cent of respondents said they would be in favour and 23.7 per cent said they would oppose it.
But the community survey of 402 respondents also found that 57.4 per cent would be in favour of the building being demolished while the council identified other options for the site.
Of those three options, 54.7 per cent of respondents identified retaining and re-using the existing building as their most favoured choice.
Designs for the new council office building were unpopular with residents, who described it as “ugly”, “garish” and a “glass monstrosity.”
Respondents expressed concern that the development’s $40 million price tag was too high and would see the site lost to the community.
“The biggest concern was the amount of debt the community will be in and the time it will require to pay it off,” the report said.
One solution suggested in focus group sessions was for council staff to move to the disused Bunnings Warehouse site in Wendouree. However, this will have a new tenant from March.
The Civic Hall’s long history of hosting public events was identified as a reason for it to be retained.
Respondents highlighted debutante balls, community events and live music as their memories of the site.
The council’s ability to manage the project was questioned by some respondents, with one expressing concern that the council “couldn’t organise a kick in the footy factory”.
Cr Harris said the fact that 98 per cent of the respondents were aware of the Civic Hall debate showed it was an important community issue.
“It was also interesting that younger people and older people had different views. It shows we’re not a homogenous population,” he said.
Ballarat Residents and Ratepayers Association president Dr Elisa Backer said the survey results were not a surprise to “anyone who had their ear to the ground”.
“It should also provide the council with some satisfaction that the decision they made last month to abandon the project was a sage one,” Dr Backer said.
The reports will be presented at the February 8 council meeting.
Email a friend