Nothing highlights the bitter dilemma of change so much to country cities than the prospect of medium density housing. Nowhere is the dispute more heated than when it runs up against heritage. On one hand is the growth that is the lifeblood of regional cities and on the other the stagnation of missed opportunity for revival. It’s a tough fork in the road between an ever changing landscape as new people and business flows in or clinging with reactive stubbornness to a decaying dream that can incrementally relegate a city to a backwater. In some ways Ballarat’s choice is a fait accompli; its own attractiveness and allure means numbers are steadily pouring in. A recent real estate investment surge indicting where the market sees great value. But the old question remains “What kind of city does it want to be with 150 thousand people?
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Then the dilemma becomes more about where the people will live; a choice between greenfield sites on the outer fringes or in infill developments closer to the centre. The contrast is not to argue that they are mutually exclusive but rather successfully absorbing this growth is a challenging balance. Either way an inevitable part of the equation must be infill housing and in inner Ballarat for this to be commercially viable it involves medium to higher density housing than what is standard practice in the fringes. In short, flats and units. The advantage with this higher density living is it is less reliant on massive infrastructure injections. We also know is there is a considerable amount of empty and underutilised space in and around the Ballarat CBD. Most of it has little or no heritage value and if anything, having sat empty or derelict for decades is more of a blight on the ambience central Ballarat.
This appetite for smaller dwellings with higher proximity can be key in combating the doughnut effect. What Europe has has shown, even in much smaller cities, is apartments lend themselves to people spending more time in public and communal spaces, whether it is a local park, cafe, square or gallery or just strolling the streets. At the same there is nothing Ballarat needs more if it is to revitalise its CBD than people and one part of that equation will be those who live in close proximity.
The latest development proposal indicates there may be a market for this kind of housing. The catch is how it interrelates with heritage values particulalrly on issues of height, bulk and look. It is a dialogue we are likely to be hearing a lot more on.
