New occupants revealed for BWEZ

MCALLUM Disability Services has been announced as one of two new businesses to take up land as part of the next expansion of the Ballarat West Employment Zone, also know as BWEZ.

They’ll be joined by hardware retailer Dahlsens and State Minister for Regional Development, Harriet Shing, visited the site last week to announce the allocation of stage two funding.

McCallum and Dahlsens will be moving to the facility which is expected to create more than 250 jobs in Ballarat.

The disability service provider will purchase 10 acres of land and seek to offer jobs to more than 200 members of the all-abilities community.

“This is an exciting day,” said McCallum CEO Tyrone McCuskey.

“We’re so proud to unveil this development plan for the community and look forward to welcoming our staff to a modern contemporary facility in the future, which will set a new benchmark for modern, fully accessible and energy-efficient commercial buildings.”

McCallum aims to provide inclusion and empowerment to those living with a disability and this new development will provide help to those who may struggle to find a job.

The organisation’s new Ballarat West Employment Zone site will allow a purpose build facility to be made which can support the needs of those who will use it.

The development will take place over five years to allow a smooth transition for McCallum and adequate infrastructure to be created.

After the transition, the organisations current Alfredton location will be turned into social housing.

Ms Shing said development within the Ballarat West Employment Zone was going better than expected.

“BWEZ is continuing to drive growth in Ballarat and for Western Victoria more broadly, giving businesses the room they need to expand and create jobs,” she said.

“Stage one and two of BWEZ are already exceeding our expectations. I’m excited to see what the next 20 years will bring and the thousands of jobs this precinct will create.”