Swap meet needs new home

WITH their 2023 iteration cancelled, the future is uncertain for organisers of the Ballarat Swap Meet, who are working to find a new site to run their annual event.

The swap meet is set to be either relocated, or cancelled indefinitely, now that their regular spot at Mitchell Park’s Airport Drive is no longer an option.

Run since 2012 by the combined Rotary clubs of Ballarat, the event was previously moved from one part of the road to the other in 2016 to accommodate early developments of the Ballarat West Employment Zone.

With stage four works on the horizon, the event is being shifted off the site completely and BSM chairperson Lindsay Florence said the team is back to square one after exhausting all previous avenues.

“We’ve explored the option of continuing to use our site for one or two more years before finding a more permanent home but because it’s under contract, we don’t know when works might start,” he said.

“We’ve further explored other Department Victoria land which are out for tenders for housing development, so it was the same category there.

“We’ve looked at land along the Avenue of Honour and some of those are very restrictive with no space for parking. We’ve also looked at the new Ballarat Show site but there’s timing issues there.”

Mr Florence said the team would need to decide on a new site by June to allow for preparations and surveyance ahead of next year’s event.

A minimum of 32 to 40 hectares would be needed to accommodate the event’s 2500 stallholders, located on a relatively flat site, with access to water and suitable parking.

The site would also need to be available during the end of January into the start of March, with the option for a five-year site commitment welcomed.

Mr Florence said the loss of the swap meet would be a massive blow to Ballarat.

“We estimated a while ago that it brought in $8 million for Victoria and $2 million to Ballarat,” he said. “There’s also the immediate grants for Rotary and sporting clubs.

“It’s an absolute culture too. People use it as a social event.

“Maryborough have expressed interest in taking over the event. We’d find it difficult for volunteers to travel and it’s pretty hard to have a Ballarat Swap Meet not in Ballarat.

“We wouldn’t like to see it out of the immediate area because it has a long tradition here.

“If we can find a location, we’re open to redesigning. Instead of a grid formation, we could go for an L-shape as an example.”

City of Ballarat mayor Cr Des Hudson urged anyone with a potential relocation suggestion to come forward.

“The City of Ballarat wholeheartedly supports the Ballarat Swap Meet, which has been an integral part of Ballarat’s event calendar for many years,” he said.

“In recent years we have worked closely with event organisers to adapt the original event site at the airport, as the Ballarat West Employment Zone land was progressively developed.

“Officers will continue to meet with event organisers to try and source a new home for the swap meet now that the BWEZ site is no longer an option, although identifying such large public reserves is proving challenging.

“We would welcome discussions with any member of the public who may be able to facilitate a private property location.”