Developer reveals large purchase of BWEZ land including site for Foodbank hub

Troon Group has confirmed it signed contracts for the purchase of 4.7 hectares of BWEZ land on Friday.

Troon Group director Steve Troon and Foodbank chief executive Dave McNamara said Foodbank Victoria had signed a letter of intent to purchase one hectare of the Troon land for the construction of its hub.

They also confirmed Foodbank would enter a building contract with Troon Group to construct the Ballarat food relief facility.

"We expect that development applications will be submitted to council within the next three to four weeks for the Foodbank facility and we would expect construction to start within the next six to eight weeks," Mr Troon said.

Pressure has been growing on Foodbank to secure land to be able to deliver its Ballarat hub before the upcoming state election in November.

The food relief organisation was promised $5 million to construct the facility by the Labor party during the last state government election campaign in November 2018.

Mr Troon said he was confident his company would be able to complete the construction of the hub to Foodbank's desired timelines.

"The stopping block was contracts being signed for the purchaser of the land," he said.

"That happened on Friday so it is now a matter of us submitting a planning application which is ready to go - again we were holding it back waiting for the land contracts to be signed.

"We will be submitting the planning permit and expect construction to start in about six weeks which would bring us into November. If it is not finished it will be very, very close."

When asked whether material delays, increasing material prices and staffing shortages would affect the company's ability to meet a tight timeline, Mr Troon said the company was able to manage those issues.

"Yes it is a difficult time but we think we have the expertise and the workforce and the team that can deal with that very very well," he said.

"I have been in the industry for 44 years and I haven't seen the inflationary escalation of pricing we are seeing now, I haven't seen it before.

"We are in really new territory but we are dealing with it and it is a matter of managing and mitigating our risk."

Both the state government and Foodbank Victoria told The Courier last week they were confident they would deliver the much-needed food relief facility to the community before the end of November.

RELATED COVERAGE: Pressure grows on Foodbank to deliver Ballarat hub before next election

Extensive delays in delivering the project, which was first planned to be under construction in the 2020/21 financial year, has caused some community frustration.

The Courier understands there have been extensive and compounding delays holding up the project, including the coronavirus pandemic, land price changes and a long period before the funding was released.

Mr Troon said Troon Group had been in discussions with Foodbank about the BWEZ land for about six months.

He said Troon Group went through an expression of interest process with Development Victoria, which has now led to a purchase agreement opening up the pathway for Foodbank.

Foodbank repeatedly told The Courier since 2019 staff were working to purchase land.

Speaking to The Courier on Thursday, Foodbank chief executive Dave McNamara said staff had been looking 'everywhere' for land.

"There wasn't any available land at the initial phase of the BWEZ which was unfortunate but as soon as we heard this stage was opening up we made our interest well known and that is how we ended up talking to Troon," he said.

"It is fantastic to get to here. It has taken a long time but we are very excited now we can push forward.

"It has taken us a while to find the ideal parcel of land that will deliver the best outcomes for the community, but we always wanted the best outcomes so it was worth taking the time."

Mr McNamara said on Thursday all of the $5 million state government funding will go to the land purchase and build of the Ballarat facility and Foodbank would fund operation costs.

He said Foodbank would continue working with the state government in the final stages of the project.

Mr McNamara said Foodbank had put additional resources into Ballarat since 2018 to run regular pop up markets, work with local charity partners and the Food Access Network.

"(We want to) make sure we understand what the needs are in the community so when we do open we understand what the need is and we can target our services appropriately. We are keen to get started," he said.

Mr Troon said the company's purchase of BWEZ land would bring significant employment opportunities to Ballarat and negotiations were underway with 'big players' to occupy the rest of the 4.7 hectare lot of land.

"We will have announcements over the next three or four months as those people sign up and agree to fill that land, bringing significant employment opportunities into Ballarat, which is what the BWEZ strategy was all about," he said.

"Troon group has already shown big confidence in investing in Delacombe Town Centre and other areas and this is another example of Troon Group investing into Ballarat.

"It shows the confidence Troon Group has in Ballarat over the next 10 to 15 years."

Mr Troon said the past approach at BWEZ where land was handed from Development Victoria to businesses had stalled development.

He referred to the saga with company Broo which bought a BWEZ block in 2017, promising a brewery and entertainment centre within five years, but construction never began.

The company is now seeking to sell the land, but the sale to the Bentley Property Group fell through after Development Victoria did not approve it.

"We have acquitted 4.7 hectares of land and we can bring a number of opportunities to that land rather than Development Victoria trying to find one occupier," Mr Troon said.

"We are able to sell a better story to Development Victoria. Have the confidence in the developer Troon Group and we will bring the employment to those blocks of land because we think our activity in the market gives us an advantage to secure good opportunities for that area of Ballarat."

Mr Troon said the intention of the wider BWEZ project was always about job creation, not land banking or on-selling.

"I can guarantee our purchase will create jobs and in a short period of time," he said.

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