THE search continues for a new location for Ballarat’s Regional Tourist information centre with the lease for its current building set to end in June next year.
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Chief executive officer of Ballarat Regional Tourism (BRT) George Sossi said discussions were under way with the council on a viable location for the centre which is at 47 Lydiard Street North.
Mr Sossi said the developer, who was redeveloping the building which housed the BRT, had extended the lease from September this year until next June.
One of the various sites under consideration is the Town Hall but Mr Sossi said the decision lay with the council.
“Obviously we are not in a desperate hurry to move and we want to make sure we find the right location to suit the needs of the centre and one which is available at the time our lease ends,” he said.
Mr Sossi said a key element of the new location was that was central.
“There are a lot less people going through the information centre than there were 10 years ago,” he said.
“The new location needs to be somewhere in central Ballarat so it is close to railway stations and volunteers are able to easily get down there to meet the morning trains.”
He said the new centre also needed to be situated somewhere where there was adequate parking for larger vehicles including caravans.
Ballarat City Council chief executive officer Anthony Schinck said the current location had always intended be a short to medium-term option and the council was examining new options.
He said Lydiard Street site had many advantages including its central location and that its sat alongside Ballarat’s premier heritage streetscapes.
Mr Schinck said council officers were developing this report with input from BRT.
The report is expected to be complete by August 2014.
melissa.cunningham@fairfaxmedia.com.au