Award-winning Ballarat brewers Dollar Bill have pulled out of a plan to open a microbrewery at the train station's Goods Shed project, blaming a lack of support from council.
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Dollar Bill Brewing is internationally recognised for its sour ales, which are brewed with wild yeasts and are barrel-aged in Invermay - this year, it won Champion Australian Beer at the Australian International Brewing Awards.
For three years, brewers Ed and Fiona Nolle have applied to the City of Ballarat to open a cellar door at their home brewery, but were repeatedly knocked back following objections from neighbours, among amenity and floodplain concerns.
They began negotiating with Goods Shed developer Pellicano and operator The Atlantic Group to open a new facility for its "regular" ales and lagers, separate from its barrel-aged production, at the train station site, hoping this would sustain their business until their cellar door opened.
The Goods Shed, a multi-million dollar project that will utilise a historic bluestone building at the station, is nearing completion, with a conference and events centre expected to open in January, and new restaurants later in 2022.
The Dollar Bill microbrewery was going to be one of four dining and drinking options in the building - Pellicano confirmed negotiations are ongoing with a Melbourne-based gin distillery, which in 2021 received a $750,000 government grant to open in Ballarat.
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Mr Nolle said in a statement his business was "asphyxiated", leaving Dollar Bill with no options but to pull out and reassess its position. "Local councillors' lack of support and inability to see our vision, bringing local farmers and producers together to showcase the region and its agricultural treasures, leaves certain crucial components of our business in jeopardy," he said.
"We also have major concerns regarding (councillors') ability to understand our industry and assist commerce and development within the region."
The existing plan for an Invermay cellar door, with limited capacity and restricted opening times, will proceed to VCAT in 2022, however the Nolles said they are looking at other options in Melbourne and in Hepburn Shire, and may leave Ballarat entirely with a new investor.
"We're in a very fortunate position where we've got someone keen on us and a production brewer ready to sign up - we've got the dream team, we just need the dream location," Ms Nolle said.
The City of Ballarat's development and growth director, Natalie Robertson, said the move was "disappointing".
"We never want to see any of our small businesses, or any businesses, leave Ballarat," she said.
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"Early on when (councillors) made the earlier decision to oppose the application, there was also a directive to try and support Dollar Bill Brewing in any other opportunities, and the Goods Shed emerged from that.
"We were excited to find an opportunity to do something there that was going to be one of the important components to reactivating that area."
A rezoning application for the site, from public use to special use, is currently before the state planning minister, with a decision expected in early 2022, she added.
Pellicano's managing director Nando Pellicano said it was a blow to the project to have Dollar Bill leave.
"It's disappointing they didn't get the support they needed from the relevant authorities," he said.
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"We still think it's a great complementary use for the precinct, and we'll go back out there and look for a similar type of operator - microbrewery-type operators."
A Regional Development Victoria spokesperson said in a statement "tenancy agreements are a matter for the project's developer and tenants".
The Goods Shed project is the final part of the massive Ballarat train station precinct redevelopment, which included a multi-level commuter car park, a new hotel, and a public plaza - separately, a new local bus interchange has opened at the station, with new traffic lights under construction on Nolan Street.
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