North ward Ballarat councillors are pushing for a development plan to be established to guide future development in Miners Rest.
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It comes in the wake growing public unrest following a number of controversial City of Ballarat decisions including building the new Ballarat saleyards in the township.
Councillors Daniel Moloney and Grant Tillett say the township has been neglected for decades and lacks in basic infrastructure including sporting fields and a town centre.
“It's severely lacking as a result of having no town centre because there is no place for people to congregate or play sport leaving it (Miners Rest) devoid of any social atmosphere,” Cr Moloney said.
Cr Moloney first raised the issue at a council meeting earlier this month after the majority of councillors voted against a contentious planning application to subdivide land at Howe Street and build 38 dwellings.
He said the most recent development plan drawn up for Miners Rest was completed in the early nineties when much of the existing infrastructure in the township hadn’t even been built.
Cr Moloney said a full development plan or scaled-down township plan of the area would help councillors to make informed decisions and push developers to comply with urban requirements for future projects.
Cr Tillett said the council had an obligation to bring Miners Rest up to date with the rest of the city.
He said in recent years development in Miners Rest had been driven by developers rather than by the council and community.
“They (the council) tried in 2007, they submitted a plan to a panel and it was rejected so everybody just dropped the ball,” he said. “It is a matter of most urgent business that we create a plan with a 30 to 40 year vision for the area known as Miners Rest.”
The council’s acting director of development and planning Angelique Lush said a township plan for Miners Rest is on the agenda and will involve consultation with residents.
A progress report on all the township plans has been scheduled for a council meeting at the end of February.