Grange Planning Brain

title: Amendment C222ball - Former Ballarat Saleyards Heritage Overlay council: ballarat state: vic category: amendment classification: MINOR status: approved last_compiled: 2026-05-31 source_docs:

  • Ballarat C222ball Explanatory Report Exhibition Gazetted.pdf
  • Ballarat C222ball Explanatory report Approval Gazetted.pdf
  • Ballarat C222ball Ballarat Saleyards (former) Heritage Citation, November 2019.pdf
  • Ballarat C222ball Ballarat Saleyards (former) Statement of Significance, Nov 2019.pdf
  • 43_01s_ball.pdf
  • amlist_s_ball.pdf
  • Ballarat C222ball 43_01s_ball track changes Approval Gazetted.pdf
  • Victoria Government Gazette No. S 642 Monday 7 December 2020.pdf
  • Planning Special Committee Meeting Agenda 27 November 2019.pdf
  • Ordinary Council Meeting Agenda 22 July 2020.pdf
  • Ordinary Council Meeting Minutes 22 July 2020.pdf

Amendment C222ball - Former Ballarat Saleyards Heritage Overlay

Amendment C222ball converted part of the former Ballarat Saleyards at 1020 La Trobe Street, Delacombe into a permanent Heritage Overlay control, creating HO225 over selected built and yard fabric rather than over the whole saleyards landholding (Source: Ballarat C222ball Explanatory report Approval Gazetted.pdf, pp.1-2). The practical planning effect is that future precinct change must work around a defined heritage core: the 1909 Administration Building, the c1963 Selling Pavilion, and a representative area of sheep yards with bluestone and timber fabric (Source: Ballarat C222ball Ballarat Saleyards (former) Statement of Significance, Nov 2019.pdf, p.1).

Background

The saleyards operation ceased in October 2018 after relocation to the new Central Victorian Livestock Exchange facility near Miners Rest (Source: Ordinary Council Meeting Agenda 22 July 2020.pdf, p.33). The Ballarat Strategy 2015 identified the saleyards and surrounding area as an urban renewal area, and Council treated heritage clarification as a precursor to the La Trobe Street Saleyards Precinct Urban Renewal Project (Source: Ballarat C222ball Explanatory report Approval Gazetted.pdf, p.2).

The amendment followed a 2013 preliminary heritage assessment and a November 2019 reassessment prepared as part of precinct planning (Source: Ballarat C222ball Explanatory report Approval Gazetted.pdf, p.2). The November 2019 citation found the place to be locally significant and recommended individual Heritage Overlay protection for a selected part of the site (Source: Ballarat C222ball Ballarat Saleyards (former) Heritage Citation, November 2019.pdf, p.1).

Analysis

Heritage Mechanism and Spatial Extent

The amendment did not rezone the saleyards land or approve a future land use; it inserted HO225 into the Heritage Overlay schedule, amended Heritage Overlay maps 21HO and 26HO, and inserted the Ballarat Saleyards statement of significance as an incorporated document at Clause 72.04 (Source: Ballarat C222ball Explanatory report Approval Gazetted.pdf, p.1). The affected saleyards site was described in the explanatory report as 11 hectares, with the Heritage Overlay applying to 0.94 hectares within that site (Source: Ballarat C222ball Explanatory report Approval Gazetted.pdf, p.1). The heritage citation described the broader saleyards land as 12.3 hectares of Crown land leased to Council, which creates a minor source discrepancy between the statutory explanatory report and the citation about the broader site area but not about the overlay’s selective purpose (Source: Ballarat C222ball Ballarat Saleyards (former) Heritage Citation, November 2019.pdf, p.1).

The mechanism is targeted protection rather than precinct-wide freezing of change. The citation states that the overlay should apply to a small portion of sheep yards adjacent to and including the Administration Building, a section that best represents the earliest surviving fabric and functionality, and the intact Selling Pavilion as a key 1960s element (Source: Ballarat C222ball Ballarat Saleyards (former) Heritage Citation, November 2019.pdf, p.2). This means the planning scheme protects the interpretive and representative core of the former saleyards while leaving the wider saleyards precinct to be addressed through separate urban renewal, land-status, contamination, and design processes (Source: Planning Special Committee Meeting Agenda 27 November 2019.pdf, pp.4-9).

HO225 applies external paint controls, internal alteration controls, and controls over outbuildings or fences, while tree controls do not apply and the place is not on the Victorian Heritage Register (Source: 43_01s_ball.pdf, p.52). The schedule also records that prohibited uses may not be permitted under HO225, which keeps the control focused on heritage fabric rather than creating a heritage-based use pathway (Source: 43_01s_ball.pdf, p.52).

Why the Selected Fabric Matters

The incorporated statement identifies the former Ballarat Saleyards as the longest running and one of the best known and largest Corporation Sale Yards in Victoria, opened in 1864 (Source: Ballarat C222ball Ballarat Saleyards (former) Statement of Significance, Nov 2019.pdf, p.1). The statement says the saleyards underwent major redevelopment programs between 1882 and 1886 and particularly during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, but retained a lineal arrangement of drafting and selling yards and pens reflective of nineteenth-century practice (Source: Ballarat C222ball Ballarat Saleyards (former) Statement of Significance, Nov 2019.pdf, p.1).

The significant elements are the single-storey face red brick Administration Building built in 1909, the area of sheep yards with surviving nineteenth and early twentieth century fabric, and the Selling Pavilion built around 1963 with its intact interior layout (Source: Ballarat C222ball Ballarat Saleyards (former) Statement of Significance, Nov 2019.pdf, p.1). Non-significant elements are the 1970s extension to the Administration Building and later structures such as water troughs, outbuildings, and garages (Source: Ballarat C222ball Ballarat Saleyards (former) Statement of Significance, Nov 2019.pdf, p.1).

The citation’s management logic is important: because saleyard operations had relocated, the heritage value associated with ongoing use would diminish, so the retained fabric needed to carry the historical and social interpretation of the place after operations ceased (Source: Ballarat C222ball Ballarat Saleyards (former) Heritage Citation, November 2019.pdf, p.2). The citation therefore recommended photographic recording of fabric outside the overlay and future interpretation using historic, social, and testimonial material (Source: Ballarat C222ball Ballarat Saleyards (former) Heritage Citation, November 2019.pdf, p.2).

Strategic Planning Function

C222ball acted as a sequencing control within a larger urban renewal process. Council’s November 2019 officer report described heritage clarification as one of the important precursor processes needed to guide future redevelopment of the saleyards precinct (Source: Planning Special Committee Meeting Agenda 27 November 2019.pdf, p.7). The July 2020 adoption report repeated that the Urban Renewal Plan would define a vision, land use and urban design framework, implementation plan, and preferred land use options for the saleyards site (Source: Ordinary Council Meeting Agenda 22 July 2020.pdf, p.33).

The amendment therefore resolves one constraint before broader land-use change: it identifies the fabric that must be retained, managed, or interpreted before decommissioning and precinct planning proceed in detail (Source: Ballarat C222ball Explanatory report Approval Gazetted.pdf, pp.2-3). This is a narrow but important planning function because the former saleyards land was also affected by Crown land and title issues, including a Queen’s caveat restricting uses on the site to saleyards only (Source: Planning Special Committee Meeting Agenda 27 November 2019.pdf, p.5).

The Crown land advice recorded by Council was that if the land was no longer required for the caveat purpose, pathways could include retention for public use, surrender of the restricted Crown Grant, or sale by the State Government as unalienated Crown land after Native Title, soil contamination, heritage value, rezoning, traffic, and public-benefit considerations were addressed (Source: Planning Special Committee Meeting Agenda 27 November 2019.pdf, p.5). C222ball only dealt with the heritage-value part of that chain; it did not resolve land tenure, contamination, public-use reservation, rezoning, traffic management, or Victoria Park connection questions (Source: Planning Special Committee Meeting Agenda 27 November 2019.pdf, p.5).

Environmental and Contamination Interface

The explanatory report states that the amendment itself was not expected to create significant environmental effects because it applied heritage protection to existing buildings and features (Source: Ballarat C222ball Explanatory report Approval Gazetted.pdf, p.3). The same report records that EPA advice under Ministerial Direction 19 required Council to satisfy itself that the site was suitable for proposed future use, consider separation distances between industry and sensitive uses, and prepare a decommissioning plan to manage remaining infrastructure (Source: Ballarat C222ball Explanatory report Approval Gazetted.pdf, p.3).

An Environmental Site Assessment had identified land directly associated with saleyard use as potentially contaminated, and further contamination assessment was underway when the amendment was prepared (Source: Ballarat C222ball Explanatory report Approval Gazetted.pdf, p.3). The adoption report records that EPA made no objection to the amendment but requested consultation on future contamination and remediation requirements (Source: Ordinary Council Meeting Agenda 22 July 2020.pdf, p.36). The practical effect is that HO225 fixes heritage retention requirements before contamination and decommissioning decisions are finalised, so future works must avoid treating remediation as a purely clearance-based exercise (Source: Ordinary Council Meeting Agenda 22 July 2020.pdf, pp.36-38).

Exhibition, Submissions, and Decision Pathway

Council resolved on 29 November 2019 to seek authorisation and exhibit C222ball under sections 8A and 19 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Source: Ordinary Council Meeting Agenda 22 July 2020.pdf, p.33). Public exhibition ran from 14 May to 15 June 2020 (Source: Ballarat C222ball Explanatory Report Exhibition Gazetted.pdf, p.6). The Planning Victoria amendment record shows exhibition started on 13 May 2020 and ended on 14 June 2020 in UTC date format, which aligns with the local exhibition window reported by Council (Source: Planning Victoria Amendment C222ball API record).

Three submissions were received during exhibition: one from EPA with no objection, one private objection that was withdrawn after discussion with planning staff, and one from First Nations Legal and Research Services about information in the Ballarat Planning Scheme unrelated to C222ball (Source: Ordinary Council Meeting Agenda 22 July 2020.pdf, p.36). Because there were no unresolved submissions requiring change, Council reported that no planning panel was required (Source: Ordinary Council Meeting Agenda 22 July 2020.pdf, p.33).

Council adopted C222ball as exhibited on 22 July 2020 and resolved to submit it to the Minister for Planning for approval (Source: Ordinary Council Meeting Minutes 22 July 2020.pdf, p.13). The Minister approved the amendment, and the gazette notice states that C222ball came into operation on 7 December 2020, the date the notice was published (Source: Victoria Government Gazette No. S 642 Monday 7 December 2020.pdf). The Ballarat Planning Scheme list of amendments records C222ball as in operation from 7 December 2020 and describes it as applying HO225 to parts of the former Ballarat Saleyards and making consequential changes to the scheme (Source: amlist_s_ball.pdf, p.52).

Current Status

C222ball is approved and operational (Source: Victoria Government Gazette No. S 642 Monday 7 December 2020.pdf). HO225 is now part of the Ballarat Planning Scheme schedule to Clause 43.01 for Ballarat Saleyards (former), 1020 La Trobe Street, Delacombe (Source: 43_01s_ball.pdf, p.52).

Dependencies

  • Blocks: Demolition, alteration, or works affecting the significant HO225 fabric now require assessment through the Heritage Overlay mechanism where a permit is triggered (Source: 43_01s_ball.pdf, p.52).
  • Blocked by: The amendment itself is no longer blocked because it was approved and gazetted on 7 December 2020 (Source: Victoria Government Gazette No. S 642 Monday 7 December 2020.pdf).
  • Informed by: The amendment was informed by the November 2019 Heritage Citation, the incorporated Statement of Significance, and an earlier 2013 heritage assessment referenced in Council reports (Source: Ordinary Council Meeting Agenda 22 July 2020.pdf, p.39).
  • Implements: The amendment implements Planning and Environment Act heritage conservation objectives, Clause 15.03 heritage policy, Clause 43.01, Clause 21.02-2 Built Form and Amenity, and local heritage policy Clause 22.05 (Source: Ballarat C222ball Explanatory report Approval Gazetted.pdf, pp.3-4).
  • Conflicts with: The documents do not identify a statutory policy conflict, but they do show practical tension between heritage retention, contamination remediation, Crown land/title processes, and future precinct change (Source: Planning Special Committee Meeting Agenda 27 November 2019.pdf, p.5; Source: Ballarat C222ball Explanatory report Approval Gazetted.pdf, p.3).

The amendment involves state-level approval because planning scheme amendments require Ministerial approval, and C222ball was approved through the Victorian amendment process before gazettal (Source: Victoria Government Gazette No. S 642 Monday 7 December 2020.pdf). DELWP Crown Lands advice is also relevant because the former saleyards land was Crown land managed by Council and affected by a use-restricting caveat (Source: Planning Special Committee Meeting Agenda 27 November 2019.pdf, p.5). EPA is a relevant state agency for future stages because the former saleyards use created potential contamination issues requiring further assessment, remediation advice, and decommissioning planning (Source: Ballarat C222ball Explanatory report Approval Gazetted.pdf, p.3).

Gaps in This Analysis

The available source set is strong for the heritage amendment lifecycle but thin for the wider saleyards precinct planning context. The La Trobe Street Saleyards Precinct Urban Renewal Project Background Analysis Report, the draft or final Urban Renewal Plan, the Environmental Site Assessment, the decommissioning plan, Crown land/title advice documents, Native Title assessment material, traffic management work, and detailed remediation documents are not available as standalone source documents in this compile set (Source: Planning Special Committee Meeting Agenda 27 November 2019.pdf, p.5; Source: Ballarat C222ball Explanatory report Approval Gazetted.pdf, p.3). Because those documents are missing, this page can analyse how C222ball fixes the heritage constraint but cannot quantify the full developable area, remediation cost, land-transfer pathway, traffic implications, or public-use outcomes for the wider saleyards precinct (Source: Planning Special Committee Meeting Agenda 27 November 2019.pdf, pp.5-7).

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