Can Ballarat station keep its heritage feel if development nearby increases?
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According to a planning report looking into redeveloping land on its southern side, the top priority for what residents want to keep is that heritage appeal, while increasing accessibility.
Part of preliminary works from the Victorian Planning Authority and the City of Ballarat, the Ballarat station southside master plan project is seeking to find ways to improve how the land is used from the station to Mair Street, and east to Peel Street.
The latest document to be released as part of the study is a summary of community consultations, which took place earlier this year.
As well as several interest groups, including heritage advocates Save Our Station, the Public Transport Users Association, Heritage Watch Ballarat, the Committee for Ballarat and Commerce Ballarat, the public was asked to place ideas on an interactive map and submit their thoughts on the project.
The document summarises the findings, with several anonymised quotes taken from the consultation period - in a list of "what (the public) would like to see changed or improved", the answers were restoring and maintaining heritage buildings, improving accessibility and disability compliance, as well as pedestrian access to Mair Street, creating a "better sense of arrival" for visitors, providing more amenity and consideration for buses, and creating an "open space plaza" and "heritage museum".
"Don't ask us if you're not going to listen," one anonymous respondent said.
According to 211 survey responses, 65 per cent of people supported or strongly supported the following statement: ""....the station must continue to provide its critical transport functions in a manner that meets contemporary needs, but the broader precinct has the capacity to become a commercial, civic and tourism destination".
"In general, people think the vision should ensure the area's core function as a transport hub is maintained, but should also address the importance of the heritage of the Station and capitalise on the opportunity to improve people's experience of the station," the report states.
A VPA spokesperson said "the Master Plan should be considered as the first step in a pipeline of future projects to unlock opportunities for change within the precinct that will likely occur over the next 20-plus years".
"It will be the responsibility of the relevant landowners or proponents to deliver outcomes as included in the future master plan. VPA are not a delivery agency as such we will be relying on the actions of other to realise the aspirations of the future plan."
A City of Ballarat spokesperson said the initial report "reinforc(es) how much the area means to residents and visitors".
"This iconic project requires the guidance of a well-considered and future looking plan," they said in a statement.
"The feedback reinforces the need for the station to be urgently upgraded to become more accessible, many of its state-listed heritage buildings to be restored for the creation of a better sense of arrival outside the station buildings; and for there to be improvements to the experience for users of the station - including fundamentals like better accessible toilets and shelter."
Save Our Station president Gerald Jenzen said he was "dismayed" by the initial report, and hoped for "more substance" in the draft master plan, due for release in mid-September.
"There's a lot of fluff in there - they've quoted anonymous survey respondents, who were people who put pins onto a plan - but where is the stuff on planning? The plan for the land along Mair Street?" he said.
"They still haven't mentioned the problem that they're only covering half the railway station - anything to do with the station has to cover all of it, not just half of it.
"If they're going to shift a ticket office to the north side, what happens to the existing one - you have to do the whole thing together."
He added he had concerns more detail from the in-depth submissions he made with Save Our Station were not given more prominence.
The southside master plan is one of several projects to be fast-tracked by the Victorian Planning Authority - a timeline in the document notes planning documents are expected to be ready to submit for approval in the fourth quarter of 2021, before going to the Minister for Planning.
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The next phase, following the release of the draft master plan, is a review of submissions and if required, referral to an independent Standing Advisory Committee which can then provide advise to the minister before any planning amendments are submitted.
The southside master plan is separate to the northern precinct works, which include the new multi-level car park, hotel, and Goods Shed redevelopment, and the local bus interchange on the eastern side.
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