Delivering a better Ballarat | ourballarat Spring 2023

The $144 million program — with a further $59 million worth of projects in planning — is positioning Ballarat as a leading regional city and will leave a legacy in Ballarat for years to come. 

However, there is a huge amount of behind-the-scenes work that goes into delivering these large-scale projects.

For City of Ballarat Director Infrastructure and Environment Bridget Wetherall and her team of eight project managers, working on city-defining capital works projects — such as the Her Majesty’s Theatre and the Central Library refurbishments — is a “once in- a-lifetime opportunity”.

“We take real pride in what we can help deliver,” Bridget says.

Many of the large-scale projects that form the current capital works program have been “on the books” for some time and will have a significant impact on communities across Ballarat. 

“Many of these initiatives will seek to change the face of the area, so while we’re getting on and doing business-as-usual — roads and minor facilities and other capital works — these initiatives are larger and more transformative,” Bridget says.

“You can really touch and feel and get involved, and I think that’s what makes these initiatives different in my view.”

Addressing the changing needs of the community is an important element in the current capital works program. Not only is the population growing, but people are making different lifestyle choices.

Project Manager Phil Barnett says a good example of a project that is seeking to respond to the changing needs of the community is the Bakery Hill precinct.

“Twenty or thirty years ago, families would typically go down into the CBD to the shops on the weekend — it’s different now and we’re trying to respond as best as possible to a changing need,” he says.

“Some people may disagree with the plan, but I don’t think anyone would disagree that its current format is the best use of space.”

The Bakery Hill revitalisation project also connects with other significant capital works projects, including the recently completed bike paths along Steinfeld and Sturt Streets, making it easier to travel seamlessly by bike through the city.

“These ‘connect-the-dot' projects at a particular point in time can occur in isolation but once everything is connected, it makes sense and enhances the benefits as a collective,” Phil says.

By 2041, Ballarat is likely to have grown by at least 55,000 people. Ensuring the city’s community infrastructure can support this growth is why the City of Ballarat has created a new team dedicated to providing a framework for the planning and delivery of all projects including these major projects.

Over the last 18 months, the Enterprise Portfolio Management Office (EPMO) has been ensuring the City of Ballarat is delivering the right projects at the right time amidst the changing needs of the community.

However, the needs of a growing community, as Phil points out, cannot be limited to Ballarat’s CBD.

“There are a whole range of projects in this capital works program that fall outside of the CBD — we’ve got projects broadly across the municipality, but we’re also doing a lot of work in the growth areas,” Phil says.

Some of these projects, such as the Alfredton Community Hub, are currently being built. 

Others, such as the Delacombe Town Centre Early Years Centre, Library and Community Hub, and the Lucas Community Centre extension, are in the planning stages.

From planning, community engagement and design work, to tendering and construction, managing the delivery of significant infrastructure projects often comes with “surprises” for the project management team.

“Although every project undergoes preparatory scoping works there will always be things that come from left-of-field,” Bridget says.  

“I think the surprise is always the surprise.”

For the Project Management team, a great deal of joy is often found in the incremental, behind-the-scenes “wins” along the way – for every wall knocked down or building frame erected, there is a significant amount of “pre-work” that happens.

“While it can be incredibly challenging, being along the whole journey of a project is also really rewarding,” Bridget says. 

“There’s nothing better than driving past and thinking ‘I had a part in that project’”.