The Creswick Road car park remains empty more than six weeks after an official open date given by the council.
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I'd dare say council is disappointed they've had a whole range of weather conditions, rainfall issues... that have made it take a bit longer than they would like.
- Premier Dan Andrews
In September, a City of Ballarat media release said the 300 car parks would be open to the public on September 23.
However, the large expanse of land, which stands on an old service station and stretches down to the Gnarr Creek, contained no cars on Tuesday afternoon.
Around a third of the car park is loosely cordoned off with flags, while the boom gates at the entrance to the park are raised.
A government sign standing outside the car park has been graffiti-ed before a single commuter has parked their car.
The Courier requested an update from the Premier Dan Andrews while he was in Ballarat on Friday.
THE SAGA OF THE CRESWICK ROAD CAR PARK
- Creswick Road carpark to open mid-February (January, 2019)
- Creswick Road car park opening delayed after soil problems (March, 2019)
- Creswick Road paid car parks delayed by weather (July, 2019)
- Creswick Road car park in Ballarat CBD delayed again (September, 2019)
- Long-awaited Creswick Road car park didn't go to tender despite cost (October 2019)
He said: "I'm sure there are good reasons why that project has been perhaps more complicated than we might have thought.
"Many of these investments should have been made a long time ago, I can't change that, all I can do is get on and get these things built as quickly as possible. Council's our partner in this.
"I think we could all be disappointed, and I'd dare say council is disappointed they've had a whole range of weather conditions, rainfall issues... that have made it take a bit longer than they would like.
"I'm sure we'll get that finished soon."
The car park site has a long, chequered history. Once a service station and fuel depot, the site was mooted for development in 2017.
A retail centre was said to be in the pipeline, but the development never got off the ground. After a $2m state government cash injection to replace parking lost around the new Gov Hub site, preliminary earthworks began in May 2018.
Initially expected to open in 2018, the car park was further delayed by soil problems earlier this year.
Council's lease on the land was for three years and is believed to end in 2021. In a statement in September, a City of Ballarat spokesperson said they were in discussions to extend the lease further.
Last month it was revealed in the City of Ballarat's annual report that the works had not been put to tender despite exceeding a threshold of $200,000.
The City of Ballarat did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.