The former saleyards, on crown land spread out over more than 12 hectares just south of Victoria Park, had been operating since the 1860s until their closure.

According to a timeline published on the council's website, initial consultation would take place directly after the saleyards closed last October, with a summary of investigations and public feedback due to be published shortly afterwards in late 2018. A final Urban Renewal Plan was scheduled to be ready mid way through this year.

The early consultation and background research has been completed, but no document has been published.

The Council's director of development and planning Angelique Lush said further investigation was currently underway to understand "the challenges and opportunities" for developing the site.

Ms Lush said a background analysis paper with community feedback and research was being finalised, and that the Strategic Planning team was planning for a new "community engagement phase" to run through July and August.

A council spokesperson also said initial site assessments had taken longer than expected due to the previous land use. Extra technical studies were needed due to contamination being "more complex than anticipated", The Courier was told. No date was provided for the release of the final Urban Renewal Plan.

There are several complications for the area, including the layers of cobblestone, and the potential contamination after more than 150 years of use.

There is one heritage listing for the office of the saleyards, but everything else is expected to be demolished.

The previous livestock exchange had an annual turnover of $160 million and employed around 630 people within the agriculture industry directly. However, it was designed for a different era, and as the boundaries of Ballarat expanded, it was increasingly difficult to manage the environmental impacts of the traffic and the livestock so near the CBD.

The Mayor of Ballarat, Samantha McIntosh warned last year that the old saleyards area would not change overnight, and that there were lots of complicated issues to work through first.

She said she would be "blown away" if it were developed within two years.

Development plans for the saleyards, both old and new, have historically moved slowly. The location of a proposed new saleyards was debated for more than 15 years, until the move was eventually made last year.

See https://mysay.ballarat.vic.gov.au/latrobe-saleyards for the latest information.

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