Peel Street sites sale split – City of Ballarat council meeting briefs

AT their regular meeting last week, City of Ballarat councillors decided to split an expression of interest offering for development at two sites on Peel Street.

Located at 28-32 Peel Street North and 5 Peel Street South, the sites were to be bundled as a package deal, and Cr Belinda Coates said there was “nothing to lose” by offering them together.

“There’s potentially a lot to gain if we do get some really good and interesting submissions around housing diversity, environmental sustainability,” she said.

“Part of the challenge with that area is it’s quite empty of people living in there and that’s actually the one thing that will activate more than anything. Not empty spaces, not carparks, it’s actually people moving around.”

The initial motion failed, with only Cr Coates and mayor Cr Daniel Moloney in favour of the proposal.

The decision to divide the two was brought forward in an alternative motion by Cr Ben Taylor, who said while council should go “full steam ahead” on 5 Peel Street, the other site’s parking spaces might still be needed.

“My concern is do we need to rush this site or do we delay until we see what the market does around 5 Peel Street and also what the market does in relation to commercial spaces within Bridge Mall itself.”

Cr Taylor’s alternative motion was passed unanimously, and will see 5 Peel Street South offered for expressions of interest while further options will be considered for 28-32 Peel Street North.

 

Pokies plan proceeding

With their previous electronic gaming machine policy over ten years old, council has adopted a Gambling Harm Minimisation Policy, which aims to reduce the impact of pokies across the region.

While gambling regulation is a State Government issue, Cr Taylor said the municipal document would allow the City of Ballarat to advocate for stronger restrictions.

“This is our opportunity now to look at trying to make a big difference in removing the amount of EGMs [electronic gaming machines] that we have in the city, reducing the cap is an option,” he said.

“I hope this policy now endorses council officers to go the next step around that advocacy, to put together those clear documents that are needed, to get in front of government now and be ready for that next level of options.”

EGMs are capped at 663 machines across the City, and the policy will prioritise gambling’s impact on mental health across the community.

Cr Amy Johnson was in favour of the motion, and called the pokies “a scourge on society.”

“It’s disappointing given the extensive research into the impact of addiction to EGMs and the fall-on effects to other people and the rest of the community that they haven’t been abolished within the state of Victoria,” she said.

 

Board gets new names

Following the adoption of a new constitution for the Art Gallery of Ballarat, the City will be bringing forward its preferred candidates to help form the newly-established board.

Six names for board seats were selected from 32 options, and include outgoing UFS head Lynne McLennan.

Cr Mark Harris said it was integral that the chosen members know the Gallery inside and out.

“The real heart and soul of being a board member is that you’ve got to love the institutions,” he said.

“I really do think those that put their hand up for it, you’ve got to love the Gallery and they do love the Gallery, and I’m sure that they will come together with some great results.”

 

Grants paused

Councillors chose not to make a decision on a range of Strategic Partnership Grants.

Asked to decide on five applications from the funding stream, the City was slated to enter a four-year deal to provide $100,000 to the Committee for Ballarat and $60,000 over three years for the WestVic Academy of Sport.

Municipal officers suggested councillors reject applications from the Ballarat Foundation, Western Victoria Primary Health Network and the Ballaarat Astronomical Society.

Yet Cr Harris took issue with the review period of the suggested partnerships via an alternate motion, saying the original two-year timeframe wasn’t fair to those who missed out.

“I don’t want to pull the carpet particularly out of those successful candidates in this dynamic, but 12 months is the appropriate amount of time to look at it,” he said.

The effort was lost, with only Cr Harris voting in favour, and Cr Johnson offered another option that would see the motion deferred until further review no later than August.

“We are very likely to come back and support the Committee again in a partnership, but I think that it would be better to potentially come back when we know a bit more,” she said.

The motion was passed with only Cr Harris voting against.

 

Commerce support halved

A municipal officer recommended plan to fund Commerce Ballarat over four years to the tune just under $455,000 was cut in half by councillors as an amendment saw the City’s agreement with organisation brought back to two years.

The motion would have seen renewed support for the organisation from July this year until late June 2026, but Cr Harris said it was time to “consider the relationship.”

“We don’t have to rush at it. I think a two-year funding frame would be fine,” he said.

“I think it’s time councillors have a look at some of the relationships with similar institutions, and have them clear and concise.”

Cr Johnson supported the alternate motion, and said with the potential of increased inflation looming, the shorter support length might benefit Commerce Ballarat.

Cr Harris’ motion passed unanimously.