Change or uncertainty: the future of Ballarat's eastern gateway

In 2015, the City of Ballarat released the Woodmans Hill Gateway Precinct masterplan for the area, focused on redeveloping it into something more befitting of the state's second largest regional city.

Yet to this day, the drive from Melbourne through that particular section of the Western Highway - where traffic slows to a leisurely 80km/h past Kryal Castle and the BP truck stop on the corner - remains as underwhelming as it is unimpressive and uninviting.

Indeed, the casual driver-by might properly be forgiven for being wholly ignorant of the fact that not more than a few kilometres away lies Ballarat, with a population now nudging 114,000 and forecast to reach 160,000 by 2040.

In recent weeks and months, however, the drumbeat of change has grown louder, with a symphony of discrete developments across this stretch of land all but compelling the conclusion that tangible, visible change might finally be afoot.

"For a spot that's been underdeveloped for a very long time," said City of Ballarat chief executive Evan King, "we're certainly starting to see some momentum and genuine interest in developing the area."

As reported by The Courier last November, an application to build a 119-room hotel is currently being considered by council planning officers.

Added to that, this masthead can reveal one of Ballarat's most prestigious motor dealerships - the Howitt Street based Peter Stevens Motorworld - recently signed a lease over the same parcel of land which formally housed the John Deere dealership, on the opposite side of the highway to the BP.

An application to set up a motor dealership at the 9 Brewery Tap Road property was published on the City of Ballarat planning website this week and is currently before planning officers.

Notably, the property - purchased in January by Donkenzie Investments Pty Ltd (owned by former Essendon footballer great Don McKenzie) - sits adjacent to 12 hectares of land fronting the highway, all of which were recently rezoned commercial two under the Ballarat planning scheme.

The Victorian government's decision to approve the commercial rezoning of that land, last December, expressly turned on the stated objectives of council's 2015 masterplan, which had earmarked the entire site as suitable for future "high quality [commercial] development".

"Given its significant highway exposure, appropriate high quality development on this site has the potential to capture significant economic activity that would otherwise not contribute to the Ballarat economy," the masterplan states.

Colliers International managing director Andrew Lewis, who is tasked with the sale of the four lots comprising the large parcel of land, said all four lots would be advertised for sale next week with a combined price tag of $17 million.

"We have some ongoing interest from two serious developers," Mr Lewis said, noting the developers in question were behind some high-level developments in both Brisbane and Bendigo.

"But we haven't been able to reach a deal [during the expression of interest phase] with either of them yet, which is why we've put it on the market."

In terms of any real or potential barriers standing in the way of a deal, Mr Lewis cited the ongoing uncertainty plaguing the Victorian government's long-term plan to upgrade that stretch of the highway to freeway status.

"Everyone's waiting to see when the highway will be realigned," he said.

"That [upgrade] will make a huge difference - we know it will open up this land in particular."

In the circumstances, the reference to "open up", made by Mr Lewis, means either one or two things. On the face of it, it's simply a nod to the commercial interest required to sell the sites.

But it could equally be taken literally, given physical access to any new developments fronting either side of the highway is currently confined to existing local roads, such as Brewery Tap Road and Old Melbourne Road.

These same strict parameters around physical access points for new developments are only liable to change if and when VicRoads upgrades the highway with the series of road widenings, entry and exit ramps and potential flyover works it flagged long ago.

Distilled, these considerations bring to the fore the central catch-22 conundrum confronting the future success of council's masterplan: the road upgrade is a project that was - when the masterplan was conceived - and to this day remains, unfunded.

And yet, the very aspirations of the masterplan were, from its inception, tied to the future road upgrade.

"The upgrade will significantly change the appearance of the precinct and is a key driver for any proposed land-use changes in Woodmans Hill," the masterplan states.

But for so long as the road upgrade remains unfunded, uncertainty will continue to shadow any prospect of securing the required commercial investment envisioned in the masterplan. As reported elsewhere in The Courier today, it is precisely this uncertainty which has compelled the owners of the Grow Master nursery to quit the area.

Similarly, for so long as commercial interests continue to shy away from the area, the longer it is the plans for the road upgrade will remain in their infancy, reduced to little more than a possibility.

This was so, Mr King conceded, notwithstanding the fact the Victorian government has purchased a number of properties along the highway over the years, while subjecting others to a public acquisition overlay.

"Certainly, it's all a bit horse and cart," he said. "Hopefully some commercial interests in that area will justify the need to do the roadworks and act as a catalyst for the upgrade."

It's a sentiment shared by City of Ballarat councillor Ben Taylor, who said that in the circumstances, the interests of all parties would be better served were the Victorian government to properly commit to the project.

"People are being very cautious - there's a fair bit of hesitation [on the part of developers] to move quickly because of VicRoad's plans for the area," he said, noting the public acquisition overlay and lack of funding.

"The best thing would be [for the state government] to just come out and commit to it and say 'this is what we're doing and here's the money we need to do it' - that would give business certainty to everyone."

Failing that, Cr Taylor added that material safety considerations would inevitably loom should commercial redevelopment of the area gather pace regardless of the precinct's uncertain future.

"Council has lobbied for many years to have the Brewery Tap Road and Old Melbourne Road intersection upgraded," he said.

"The sad thing is it probably won't ever become a priority until there is a serious accident out there."

Only the passage of time will unmask the accuracy of these views.

In the meantime, with the vision of a masterplan enitrely predicated on an unfunded possibility, the community can only hope Cr Taylor's views don't prove fatally prescient; and, equally, that the site doesn't become yet another textbook example of growth wholly outpacing the infrastructure required to sustain it.

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