Still the village of the neglected

TOWARDS Ballarat’s west lies a village that some residents say is unsafe and neglected.

With those living in Cardigan Village affected by a lack of infrastructure upgrades for a long time, resident Neil Black is again asking questions about unsafe guttering and persistent flooding in the satellite suburb.

“My mother-in-law was getting frail and would insist on taking our bins out the front, we thought this is not good, as the gutter was eroding to the point it was almost at the road,” he said.

“It was just an accident waiting to happen, so I started asking questions.

“I know someone who moved out of the area because their front gutters were overflowing every time it rained heavily and the council didn’t do anything about it.”

After heavy rainfall at the end of 2022, Herbert Street and a nearby playground became flooded.

Yet, those areas of Cardigan Village were developed only two years ago and should have been covered by better infrastructure.

This led Mr Black to wonder how the new homes were approved on such low-lying land.

“They’ve put a pipe under the road to the wetlands which is not going to do anything,” he said.

“If we get severe weather the wetlands are going to fill with water, the water’s going to backup, and we’ll have the same problem.

“Anyone could have seen that the point down at the end of Herbert Street is the low point of the estate, and yet the council signed off on the development being completed, who is going to pay?”

In a statement, City of Ballarat director of infrastructure and environment Bridget Weatherall, said the municipality was considering funding in next year’s budget for further investigation and implementation of fixes in the area.

She said that this sort of project would need to be considered over several budgets, although the City of Ballarat have been removing vegetation and regrading drains in the meantime.

Yet Mr Black said that wasn’t good enough.

“As residents we’re sick to death of the talk and it’s time for action,” he said. “Get something happening, I have a lot of support from the community.

“I’ve got letters from the council about them thinking about it and considering for the last seven years and nothing has happened.”

Mr Black’s push comes on top of a 2018 report that promised the village would have safe and accessible streets and infrastructure.

“Even if they do one street at a time at least it’s a start,” he said.