Substation pushback – City of Ballarat Council meeting briefs

CITY of Ballarat councillors voted during their regular meeting last week to advocate on behalf of residents pushing back against a new Powercor substation set to be built in Ballarat East.

The land located at 203 York Street has been zoned as a utility site and owned by the power company since the early 1970s.

The item saw two question time submissions and two presentations by residents who argued the site was no longer suitable due to its now-residential location.

“There has never been any question about the necessity of the power station,” said presenter Jennifer Patterson. “The placement of it is the issue.”

Council received two petitions from residents containing nearly 200 signatures in objection to the substation.

The municipality’s director of development and growth Natalie Robertson said a land swap has been put forward to Powercor, who have yet to respond.

Cr Daniel Moloney said it would be in Powercor’s interests to work with the community toward resolution.

“We by all means should advocate to government ministers and MPs but I’m not even sure that would stand up in VCAT at the end of the day,” he said.

“This was all put together in the 1970s, however while Powercor might come from that position… I’m hoping they can also see the benefit of being a good community citizen.”

The motion was passed unanimously, with the exception of Crs Amy Johnson and Ben Taylor who were absent from the meeting.

 

Childcare stopped

Councillors shut down a planning proposal to develop a new childcare facility at 315 Greenhalghs Road in Delacombe following backlash from residents.

With the site located on the corner of Benson Close, a cul-de-sac of nine properties with an older demographic, eight presenters argued the location was inappropriate.

Residents cited traffic inflow into the court would be a major disruption, with noise and privacy factors as well as environmental issues also raised.

The site was proposed to cater for 92 children with 17 staff and 20 carpark spots.

Cr Tracey Hargreaves brought forward an alternate motion to deny applicant Smart Planning and Design their proposal and agreed with residents’ concerns.

“This is a clear case of business and commercial interest butting up against people’s homes and quality of life,” she said.

“This is a small court. Large bodies of traffic don’t flow well through courts as it is. If it’s 92 children, and it takes one carer to drop off a child, we’re now up to 180 people and 17 staff.”

Cr Moloney urged residents to build a case should the matter be brought to VCAT.

The alternate motion passed with all except Cr Mark Harris in favour, who said the proposal was in line with municipal regulations.

 

Heritage amendment

Six properties were brought to council for consideration for heritage overlay as part of tweaks to the Ballarat Planning Scheme.

With two of the presented sites cause for debate amongst councillors, the item was split into two parts to allow the remainder of unobjected properties to go through to the next stage of submission.

Overlay for one of the sites, called “Bournedale” and bought by a Selkirk descendant, was objected by the landholder as their heritage report differed to the one brought by council officers.

“[The Selkirk] house is a reasonable compromise for the entire lot one which is the parcel of land that has the most significant aspect of heritage protection,” Cr Des Hudson said.

“The compromise from being just finishing at the boundary of the house to extend to being the entire part of that allotment is fair and reasonable.”

Cr Moloney argued the second objected property, 89 Magpie Street at Golden Point, which features the burnt down John Pearce House, isn’t worth heritage overlay.

“To have officers continue to be bogged down on a site… that is not going to bring back a burnt down house is a bit of a poor use of our very limited resources,” he said.

The motion was carried with Crs Moloney, Hudson, Hargreaves, and Peter Eddy in favour.

 

26 Jan divide

Two councillors expressed disappointment at council’s inability to move their January 26, or Australia Day, events to a different date.

Council were brought options around future community consultation in planning subsequent January 26 events, which would not impact the upcoming 2024 schedule.

Cr Belinda Coates spoke against the decision, and said it came too late to make a “tiny step forward” around the issue for the present.

“It is pretty embarrassing that if council wasn’t able to take a leadership position… out of respect,” she said.

“In the spirit of reconciliation, it’s quite difficult and disingenuous to put the First Nations community through another round of consultation.”

The motion passed with Crs Harris and Coates voting against.

 

Visitor plan

Councillors signed off on their Ballarat Visitor Arrival Master Plan aimed at generating tourism and attracting out-of-towners into the region.

Cr Peter Eddy said the document will guide the municipality in crafting an ideal visitor experience.

“I thought it was a really well-balanced report and sort of aspirational in the sense of saying to us we want to be the benchmark for regional cities,” he said.

 

Inclusivity

One year on from its adoption, councillors looked back on the implementation of the Community Inclusion Framework.

Cr Coates said the document has provided an integral policy to make Ballarat residents feel involved in their community.

“This is the kind of thing that really shapes who we are as a city,” she said.

“We can’t underestimate the impact this important work has across intercultural inclusion, LGBTIQ+ inclusion, gender equity, disability access and inclusion.”