Sharon Knight (Courier Opinion 29 Sept) tells the public not to worry about the redevelopment of the Ballarat Station.

She assures us it will deliver us economic benefits. She says she is setting the record straight, though fails to mention a few things along the way.

Does Sharon tell us what the economic benefits are? No, the business case is commercial-in-confidence. Does Sharon explain how much the land is being sold for? No. Unlike public land under the control of government departments, which must publish the price when sold, VicTrack are excluded. 

Did she mention that VicTrack did no modelling of future transport needs before declaring the land surplus and selling it? 

No, it couldn't possibly just be somebody's thought-bubble, that Sharon was too lazy to challenge.

Does she explain that to allow for the land sale, the Andrews government has to offset the lost parking and refurbish the Goods Shed before handing over the land. Did she mention that this is costing more than $20m, or nearly four times the proceeds from the land sale? 

Sharon has refused to meet members of the public on the station issue for more than two years now. She is aloof, unaccountable and seeing out the end of her unremarkable political career in a bubble. 

Her legacy will be the loss of Wendouree for Labor in November -unless they change the plan. There is still time, but like Sharon's career, it is fast running out.

John Barnes, Brown Hill

Recently there was a contribution  from local member for Ballarat, Sharon Knight on the need for “facts” in the discussions on the changes to Ballarat Railway station and provision of parking for rail users.

In Ms Knight’s second paragraph she refers to “improved parking” but does not volunteer any “facts” as to number of spaces available in the past and the number available when the project is finally completed. Rumour has it there will be considerably less on completion.  Could Ms Knight please supply “the facts” ?

There is a pressing and urgent need to increase (and continue to increase) the available parking for commuters if Ballarat’s population is going to grow along the lines that experts are predicting.

Each commuter car park generates income for Ballarat with the after tax wages being spent here. If we “choke” the ability of  additional users to be able to park then Ballarat will be the poorer.

Neil Sinclair, Lake Wendouree

When a person is in deep water they tend to splash, make a lot of noise and raise their arms in defeat, in an attempt, to gain attention.

Nothing could indicate this more than the reading of the Opinion Piece by Sharon Knight in The Courier Saturday 29 September 2018.

I was most excited to read Ms Knights’s claim ( Opinion 29/9); “Firstly, any suggestion that the station is for sale or is being sold off is simply untrue.

The Ballarat Railway Station is, and will remain, owned by all of us”. 

If this is fact, then it is fantastic news and really means that the Goods Shed and the adjacent land has not, or will not, be sold to the developer and that the land will remain under the ownership of the Crown and could be used for transport services.

 “The Ballarat Station Precinct Redevelopment will not, as some have misleadingly claimed, “destroy” the heritage of the station. Most obviously, the Ballarat Railway Station is not part of this project, and it has never been. The project is being undertaken within the station precinct and no changes are being made to the station because of the redevelopment”. 

Again, if this is fact, there will be no alterations or renovations to the station including disability access because of the heritage overlay of the buildings. It would appear, that Ms Knight, as the local representative of the Andrews government, has been instructed, because of the outcry, to sell this very poor redevelopment proposal at the Ballarat Station through her opinion piece. She has failed miserably.

Paul Jenkins, Alfredton

If only Sharon Knight had kept to the development facts

Save Our Station Ballarat Inc (SOS) seeks a right of reply to comments by retiring Member for Wendouree Sharon Knight MP regarding the Rail Station Precinct development as published in The Courier Saturday 29 September.

We (SOS) swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth! As follows.

We at SOS are supporters of the Ballarat Station Precinct Redevelopment, a development that should provide benefit to the community and importantly commuters through the creation of a 21st-century all-abilities accessible transport hub, which is not in Labor’s proposal.

What needs to be recognised is that the land has not been proven to be surplus to VicTrack’s needs and why hasn’t the land been offered to the Ballarat community, through Council rather than gifted to a developer?

SOS has been denied access to the so-called business case, we even made numerous freedom-of-information requests, to no avail – what is Labor hiding?.

Ms Knight states, “The station does not form part of the redevelopment.” This we agree on! But why, then, is our historic central rail station the only station on the Ballarat line that is not to be redeveloped for those with disabilities and providing 21st-century facilities for commuters?

Ms Knight says she supports improved parking and amenity in the station precinct; so does SOS, but not less as is Labor’s proposal. Why then will the three-tier car park currently being constructed have a parking capacity less than the existing car parking currently available at the site, not to mention narrower parking bays – which would be okay if you’re a midget and drive a mini. 

As to the job creation generated by the redevelopment that is being trumpeted by Labor, this is a promotional furphy; there will be no long-term permanent jobs created by this unwarranted “block of flats” and the use of the Goods Shed as a conference centre.

Ms Knight also states that “It’s good that there are different opinions on government policies and projects – that’s what makes a democracy work.” Again, we agree; however, SOS believes that democracy works best when governments engage, listen and act in the very best interests of their communities rather than having intransigently pushing misguided political agendas. Sadly this hasn’t happened yet with the Andrews government. Yes, there is still time. In fact, the time is now!

For your information, SOS is, dare we say, a broad church. We even have many vocal Labor supporters who are against this government’s proposal. SOS can’t refer to this as a plan as frankly there isn’t one!

Ms Knight states that “not all of the commentary about this project has been well informed” and that “I believe some people, including politicians and opponents of the project, have even deliberately misrepresented the Ballarat Station Precinct Redevelopment. I think it is important that the conversation about this major project has a grounding in facts”.

Frankly, Ms Knight, we at SOS have only ever dealt with the facts; The Andrews Labor government’s actions are a major fiasco of its own making.

You also state that “The Ballarat Station Precinct Redevelopment will see construction of a five-storey hotel, and the conservation and adaptation of the Goods Shed to accommodate a conference centre and retail space”. False!

The proposed five-storey development will not be a 4.5-star hotel; it will be self-contained apartments with individual titles leased to Quest, which means they will be, in fact, a “block of flats”. The parking at the proposed Quest site will be private parking that will not provide any benefit to commuters or the community.

To suggest there is a small number of opponents to the proposal is farcical and disingenuous in the extreme – it is just Labor’s embarrassing nonsensical political spin. It should be noted that The Courier survey showed that over 90 percent of residents oppose this proposal. Fact!

You say that “any suggestion that the station is for sale or being sold off is simply untrue”. Again, the rail precinct includes the station, which is essential to service the needs of commuters – public transport and car parking.

Ms Knight, you need to take the train regularly to appreciate the issues not only now but also what will be required for the long-term future. Dare we state that the whole precinct must remain owned by all of us and redeveloped for transport and commuter needs.

You state that “The Ballarat Station Precinct Redevelopment will not, as some have misleadingly claimed, ‘destroy’ the heritage of the station”. The Labor government is complicit with the destruction that has already happened; doing nothing with the station precinct infrastructure is demolition by neglect. Fact!

Finally, you say “And the same opponents of the project probably place a lesser value than I (Sharon Knight) do on the economic activity and jobs that will be created because of this project”. Ms Knight, there is no economic benefit to the community with Labor’s proposal. Again, there are no permanent, long-term jobs with Labor’s ill-conceived proposal. Why won’t Labor make the business case public?

We say to you and the Andrews Labor government to stick to the facts when advocating your position rather than mislead the community through spin and falsehoods.

SOS has a plan that will benefit not only commuters but our community for the long-term future – jobs, economic development, tourism and lifestyle. We place community need first, unlike Labor and its political agenda that is placed before our community. Remember, the state election is on Saturday 24 November!

SOS will gladly gift our plan to the current government and we have also offered it to the state opposition. If only Labor would come to the table, listen and engage.

The final fact is that the Ballarat community demands that the Andrews Labor government changes its proposal, and renegotiates (not cancels) the contract with the developer so as to deliver a 21st-century all-abilities accessible transport hub, upgrading the station hall and facilities and creating parking for the long-term future.

Save Our Station has only ever kept to the facts – these are proven and true, unlike Labor’s falsehoods.

Sharon Knight, you and Labor have created this fiasco; make it your legacy to be part of the solution. It is time to change the plan (proposal), Sharon and Dan!

Ron Egeberg, For and on behalf of Save Our Station Ballarat Inc

Congratulations must go to the SOS group! Their efforts over the last months have been admirable.  One of the group’s achievements has been to succeed in getting Sharon Knight to write an article on the station situation from the Daniel Andrew’s government position.  

Nowhere does Sharon in her article/statement mention that it is a parcel of Crown land which has been sold, given or leased to a private developer to develop a hotel/apartment block. She states that the land is a parcel of land surplus to V-Line needs.  Perhaps some more car-parking spaces would have been of equal value to Ballarat.

The plans for the site are a little hard to find, but when they are found, a major concern (apart from the sell-off of Crown land) apparent is the lack of facilities for disabled people. I have made the presumption that the present Disabled parks at the Station precinct will remain, which are four in number.  In the plans , there are only two disabled car parks on the ground floor of the new carpark and another one in the carpark of the hotel/apartment block.   I doubt that these extra three disabled car parks are sufficient in number.  In addition,  these parks are a long way from the station for a disabled person considering that the distance across to the station, out onto Lydiard Street, through the railway gates and back to get to Platform 1 will have to be traversed!  I cannot find any mention of a lift!  One or two Disabled parks in Ararat Street have already  been lost in the bus rerouting debacle and have not been replaced! 

Another concern is that there has been no indication as to whether there will be a cost to park in the new carpark.  Some reassurance about the cost of parking would be reassuring! 

Joyce Currie, Wendouree