IT WAS an important moment for Ballarat City Council last night, as it voted to demolish Civic Hall and redevelop it.In supporting the push, Cr Des Hudson said the demolition of Civic Hall would be the "dawning of a new era".He said that after eight years on council, Civic Hall had long been an issue."But it no longer meets the community needs, it's dysfunctional and has outlived its time.""We are at the crossroads here before us ... we need to build something our children can be proud of."Cr Craig Fletcher said council was at a fork in the road and needed to make a decision."Council would comprehensively develop the Civic Hall site to become a landmark development in the CBD," he said."We need a new approach, where other applications have not succeeded."Cr Fletcher was adamant the process would include full community consultation."We can develop this site as a quality building, which clearly articulates our city, with our stance on heritage and we are also open for business."Under council's proposal, the new facilities to be built on the site would accommodate council's administrative staff, commercial tenants and car parking.The planning process, master plan and initial design is expected to be finished by the end of the year.In presenting the proposal to council, City of Ballarat growth and development director Jeff Pulford said that over recent months there had been a substantial amount of work done on the future of Civic Hall. He said redeveloping the site would create construction jobs and would put the site at the centre of civic activity in the middle of Ballarat."It's a very exciting opportunity for opening up the heart of Ballarat," Mr Pulford said.Cr Samantha McIntosh amended the recommendations to ensure the future development complied with council's current policies and guidelines.