Recently I made inquiries with regards to a property in central Ballarat which is now a house, but was once a beautiful old shop. I was intersted in purchasing the house/old shop front. It is simply beautiful and reeks of history and warmth. I rang the council several times to ask about converting the house back to a shop with a real communty feel and spirit, like shops used to be in the days before supermarkets. However, I was informed rather bluntly on several occasions that: "In a residential zone 1, once a shop has ceased to be a shop for more than two years, and is now a residence, it is impossible to convert the house back to a shop". I was told that "under no circumstances could the house be converted back to a shop and dwelling at the rear". I was also told "there was nothing I could do about this", and "under any circumstances".Whatever happened to community spirit? What happened to trying to reduce global warming and being able to walk to a shop in the local community? What does this mean to the beautiful old shops across Ballarat? Does it mean they will never be able to be converted back to shops? How appalling is this?VINCENT HEALYBallarat