The major projects for Ballarat as part of 2022-23 state budget have been announced, with some mixed results for the city.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
We're still in the dark about new Commonwealth Games infrastructure, and the Ballarat Link Road's second stage remains unfunded for the foreseeable future
The state government instead chose to plan an upgrade for the Ballarat-Carngham Road between Dyson Drive and Wiltshire Lane in its 2022-23 budget, handed down on Tuesday, with $6.6 million for "duplication development" for a stretch of road experiencing rapid growth in housing, businesses, and traffic.
AT A GLANCE:
The full amount to be allocated is not listed, and it is one of 14 regional road projects that will share the funding, expected to be complete by mid-2025.
In a win for animal lovers, $11.5 million will go towards constructing a new Ballarat Animal Shelter, which council had viewed as a priority project.
The duplication of Carngham Road is listed as a second-tier priority on the City of Ballarat's Priority Projects for Advocacy document, with an estimated construction cost of $40 to $60 million, as is the regional animal shelter.
The Commonwealth Government will contribute $39 million from its Roads of Strategic Importance fund.
In other big spends for Ballarat, the city will share in $2.6 billion statewide in Commonwealth Games funding.
The full breakdown is not listed for each of the four cities to host "hubs" for the 2026 event, nor are the specific infrastructure upgrades or initiatives.
It's also noted the full amount, to be spread over five years, "includes intended contributions from the Commonwealth Government and Local Governments, and potential commercial revenues".
Budget documents state "planning for competition venue facilities is under way", while it's understood this sum will also include money to build the athlete's villages - there'll be about 1750 athletes, coaches, and staff based in Ballarat for the games.
In health, the state government earlier announced Ballarat Base Hospital would receive $29 million for 33 new mental health beds, with land acquisition and planning to begin this year.
There will also be new surgical and radiation equipment for the hospital, and money allocated to plan for "a mental health and alcohol and other drugs emergency department crisis hub" and for eating disorder prevention initiatives, a first for the regions.
Joining Ballarat's Specialist Family Violence Court and new Drug Court, which will continue, the Assessment and Referral Court will expand to Ballarat - according to the budget papers, "the ARC provide intensive pre-sentence support and judicial supervision to accused persons with a mental illness and/or cognitive impairment, and assists (to) address underlying factors that contribute to offending behaviours".
For schools, Mount Rowan Secondary College will share in $234 million for upgrades for schools across the state, with $6 million to upgrade existing facilities by "quarter 3 2024-25".
However, there are no funds allocated for land acquisition for future schools in Ballarat.
While $24 million will be allocated for "detailed works on infrastructure and service solutions to increase current rail network capacity on the Melton and Ballarat corridor", the Ballarat train station also missed out on receiving funding for much-needed accessibility upgrades once again, nor is there any money specifically allocated for a new station or platform near Mars Stadium.
The completion of the Lydiard Street level crossing upgrade, which received $10.5 million in last year's state budget, has been pushed back to "quarter 4 2022-23 to deliver the final signal solution", while the massive Ballarat Base Hospital upgrade is expected to be complete by "quarter 2 2028-29".
The Beaufort bypass has also been pushed back to "quarter 4 2022-23 due to delays in the planning and approvals process" from quarter 2, while the end date for the Western Highway duplication to Stawell is now "to be confirmed due to legal challenges", with $590 million already spent.
The Keeping Ballarat Moving project, which will upgrade six intersections across the city, is still expected to be completed in "quarter 2 2022-23", despite no final plan for the Dyson Drive and Carngham Road intersection released, and the new funding for Carngham Road announced Tuesday..
More broadly, the state budget focused on additional support for the health sector, promising additional COVID recovery support, infrastructure upgrades and more staffing across the state, and cost-of-living support.
A state "future fund" will also be established with money from the privatisation of some VicRoads functions, expected to be about $10 billion.
The City of Ballarat's ambitious wishlists - both its collaborative whole-of-city Ballarat: Now and Into the Future document, and its $430 million priority advocacy document - will have to wait for state or federal election campaign announcements.
Have you signed up to The Courier's variety of news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in Ballarat.
