Ballarat Freight Hub: Council Approves Ring Road Shift

Ballarat City Council has formally endorsed the discontinuance of Ring Road at the rail level crossing in Mitchell Park. The move clears the way for the Ballarat West Intermodal Freight Hub, with statutory works now budgeted for the 2026/27 financial year.

The same meeting saw council adopt two Notices of Motion. One calls for reports on illegal hoon driving while the second addresses rising vandalism of public assets and includes a draft graffiti policy aimed at recovering repair costs through civil restitution.

Infrastructure and Growth Plans Advance

The Minister for Planning has approved the Ballarat Infrastructure Growth Alignment Framework. It supplies strategic advice on sequencing infrastructure to support future housing targets. Separately, council has adopted a 10-year Asset Plan covering its $2.18 billion public asset portfolio and projecting more than $496 million in transport infrastructure spending through 2035.

The 2026/27 council budget allocates $92.3 million to capital works. Of that total, $25.3 million is earmarked for capital road infrastructure and $17.85 million will start the Eastwood Leisure Complex upgrade.

Community and Economic Snapshot

Community consultation on the mandatory 10-year review of Ballarat’s Community Local Law closed on 29 June 2026. The current law must be replaced by the end of 2027. Strong progress was noted on implementation plans for Early Years, Youth and LGBTIQA+ inclusion during the first council meeting of 2026.

Ballarat’s Gross Regional Product stood at $7.69 billion in 2022/23, with total economic output near $18 billion and 67,917 modelled jobs. Manufacturing exports reached $3.3 billion while the visitor economy generated $1.1 billion from more than 4 million visitors in the year to June 2024.

In local sport, Ballarat SC leads the FV Greater Ballarat League 1 amateur soccer table on 24 points after nine matches, ahead of Forest Rangers on 20 points. Sebastopol sits atop the Ballarat Football Netball League senior netball ladder with 40 points from 12 games, level on points with Darley and Ballarat at 36 each.

An Expression of Interest process is open to appoint a new trustee for Her Majesty’s Theatre Deductible Gift Recipient funds following Australian Tax Office changes, with a final report due in April 2026. The 2026/27 budget and the asset plan will guide spending decisions through the decade ahead.