IT’S back to the drawing board for the Country Fire Authority which is once again looking for a home for the Buninyong Fire Station after talks broke down with the owners of a proposed site.
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But there might be a white knight on the horizon with Buninyong Golf Club open to selling a 50m x 50m patch of land on the Midland Highway to the east of the clubhouse.
The CFA initially hoped to have a new Buninyong fire station at the corner of Palmerston and Warrenheip streets completed by the end of this year, but plans have been put on hold.
It is believed issues with the former petrol station site has led to the owner withdrawing the proposed sale.
In a short statement to The Courier, the CFA said: “CFA was unable to come to agreed terms with the current owner of the site and it has been withdrawn from sale by the owner.”
“CFA remains committed to finding a new location and a search for other suitable land within the area is progressing.”
READ MORE: Land options identified for station
Buninyong Golf Club treasurer Richard McDowell said members had agreed at a meeting to open negotiations with the CFA over the possible sale of the land.
“The golf club is a awaiting a valuation on the land,” he said. “It will require a slight re-alignment of our boundary.
“It is in an area of land the golf club is not particularly using at the moment. In my personal view, I’d love there to be a situation where we could have a whole emergency hub built at the site, that’s just a dream at this stage.”
Plans for the new station at the Palmerston Street site were lodged with the City of Ballarat late last year. It was hoped the new facility would have had dedicated meeting and office spaces and a breathing apparatus room on top of additional shedding to the rear of the block.
In 2014, the then Labor opposition pledged $1.5 million for a new Buninyong facility as an election commitment.
In September of 2015 CFA District 15 acting operations manager Alfred Mason said the current Learmonth Street site was unsuitable for the revamp given its small size.
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