The Ballarat West Employment Zone (BWEZ) will accommodate up to 9030 jobs and generate $5.078 billion in economic output each year, according to the project’s Economic Assessment presented to City of Ballarat Council alongside the project’s draft Master Plan at last night’s Ordinary Meeting.
The project is a 20 year plan to optimise the future development of the site – a 623 ha precinct adjoining the Ballarat Airport and located on the Western Link Road and accessible from the Ballarat West Growth Areas.
The Economic Assessment provides analysis of supply and demand, land use options for the site, together with recommendations to successfully achieve the staged development of the land. The Economic Assessment along with feedback from community has driven the development of the Master Plan.
City of Ballarat Mayor Mark Harris said the BWEZ was part of Council’s ongoing commitment to prudent planning in ensuring the city is well placed to accommodate population growth in a sustainable manner and capitalise on investment opportunities.
“The Economic Assessment confirms that there is sufficient demand to warrant the staged development of the BWEZ over the next 20 years. The demand for industrial land will come from a mix of organic growth, relocation of businesses from existing industrial areas, and through inward investment from new entrants to the city”.
“When fully developed, the BWEZ will have created almost 50% of the additional jobs required for the expected population growth in Ballarat. Without the BWEZ, Ballarat will fall below the acceptable threshold of available industrial land in 2015 based on current trends”.
The project will provide opportunities for local companies to fill the $1.9 billion gap in Ballarat’s domestic imports; that is money that Ballarat spends sourcing goods and services, predominantly in Melbourne each year, particularly in the areas of transport and logistics, wholesale trade, and construction.
Mayor Harris said that Council had worked to ensure issues on the site relating to hydrology, heritage and environmental protection have been addressed while ensuring that the development of the site is optimised.
“As with any project of this size, there are going to be constraints on the site. As well as managing these, the Master Plan identifies opportunities for alternative energy, water reuse, environment enhancement, and clustering layouts to create a competitive business environment”.
The Master Plan also includes measures to protect the amenity of nearby residential areas from both operations of industrial areas on the site, and traffic.
The Stage 1 development (covering a five-year period 2015-2020) is recommended to comprise approximately 75ha of land, allocated as follows: general industry (targeting construction related industry) (35ha), freight village (20 ha), transport and logistics precinct (5ha), food processing precinct (10ha), research and development (3ha), convenience retail node/business support services (2ha).
Feedback from consultation sessions held over the past six months has been used to inform the Draft Master Plan to ensure the best possible outcome for the community.
The Ballarat West Employment Zone draft Master Plan is now available for public comment until 12 noon on Friday 20 January 2012.
The final Master Plan document will be submitted to Council for consideration to progress to a planning scheme amendment early in the new year, which will create another opportunity for community to have their say on the project.
A community information session will be held on Tuesday 17 January 2012 where members of the public will be able to ‘drop in’ at any time to view and discuss the project with Council Officers. The session will be held between 3pm and 6pm in Committee Room 2 at the Ballarat Town Hall.
Council acknowledges the State Government’s support of the BWEZ project through the ‘Planning for Change’ fund.
For more information on the Ballarat West Employment Zone, click here.