Hospital carpark reopen

THE upgraded Ballarat Base Hospital carpark on Mair Street was officially opened last week by the Minister for Regional Development Gayle Tierney.

The works to expand the 24-hour lot to eight levels took 11 months.

Grampians Health executives and the Member for Wendouree Juliana Addison expressed their thanks to hospital staff and the broader Ballarat community for their patience and cooperation while the carpark was closed.

Parking in the multi-level lot will be free of charge into the future.

Hospital staff were encouraged to park at the City Oval, and either walk or take a courtesy bus to and from work, throughout the construction period.

“The City of Ballarat has been extremely supportive in allowing us to use the City Oval as our temporary car park along with neighbouring businesses who provided after hours parking for our on-call medical staff,” said Grampians Health CEO Dale Fraser.

“We are extremely grateful for the community’s support. I would also like to thank our redevelopment team for helping to deliver this vital piece of infrastructure while minimising the impacts of construction and allowing the hospital to continue to operate.”The upgrade was funded as part of the Regional Car Park program, and comes under the broader $655 million Ballarat Base Hospital Redevelopment.

“In addition to delivering new facilities and vital clinical capacity for the hospital, the Ballarat Base Hospital Redevelopment will address the critical need to improving access for staff, patients and visitors,” said Grampians Health chief redevelopment and infrastructure officer Veronica Furnier.

The free park-and-ride bus service ceased operation last Friday 6 September at 11pm.

The first building to be finished as part of the hospital redevelopment is expected to open at the end of the year. Works on the main tower continue, and are expected to be complete by 2027.