Residents of a regional Victorian city known for its heritage-listed buildings fear a proposed seven-storey development will "eclipse" its historic charm.
The mixed-use building proposed for Humffray Street North would create more than 70 apartments, as well as office space, in the gold-rush-era neighbourhood of Bakery Hill.
Developer Hygge Property submitted plans for the project, on the site of the Robert Sim Building Supplies store, earlier this year.
Nearby resident Lucy, who asked to keep her surname private, was concerned about the scale of the proposal.
"The height of it, it would be akin to a development in Cremorne or Collingwood [in Melbourne]," she said.
"My concern is that we could be setting a precedent for these much higher-scale buildings.
"One of the things that strikes me about the beauty of Ballarat is that it is on a lower scale."
More housing needed
Ballarat is faced with the challenge of housing a rapidly growing population, with homelessness a major issue.
In the 2021 census, the most recent, the Ballarat population had grown by 20,000 people to 113,763.
Hygge Property director Joseph van Dyk said Ballarat was in the midst of a housing crisis.
"In the next 10 years or so, we will be a population of 140,000," he said.
"And there are very few sites in Ballarat that have three road frontages, not a single residential interface, over one acre in size, and can provide over 25 per cent public realm space back to the city, and can cater to 70 to 80 apartments ... those sites just don't exist."
The city's housing vacancy rate is at 2 per cent, indicating high demand, according to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria.
Other regional councils around Australia are considering high-rise apartment blocks as one potential solution to deal with the same issue.
"Do I think that 10-, 12-, 14-storey buildings should be built in Ballarat? No, I don't. Maybe in an isolated site you might get 10 or 12 storeys ... but not within the CBD," Mr van Dyk said.
"But if we look back in 10 to 20 years and we went four levels on this site, do I think the city more broadly will regret it? Yes, I think we will."
The developer said in the community consultation earlier this week, they received between 60 and 70 objections.
"In a population of [nearly] 120,000 ... to me that is broad acceptance," he said.
"We understand there are people who will be adversely impacted, but the number of people who are impacted by this development is so few ... and there is just no other site like it."
Lucy said she could see benefits to having the extra housing the project would create.
"There are a lot of positive elements ... it's looking to address housing diversity. I think there are people who are potentially keen to see the area revitalised, and to bring in new elements," she said.
But she did not believe the seven-storey building was the right answer to the problem, and said many others had raised the same concerns.
"It really comes down to the scale, the form, and the height. It's just too tall," Lucy said.
"I think you can address housing diversity in a more sympathetic manner."
Councils under pressure
Mayor Des Hudson said the need for housing in Ballarat was only going to rise as the population grew.
He said it would be a "challenge" for council to tackle the issue without exploring options like high-rise.
"It's something that is talked about frequently with that skyline ... that's a balancing contention that we need to think about in terms of investment into our city, job creation, economic benefit," Cr Hudson said.
"As well as preserving the history and feel of what Ballarat is."
The Bakery Hill Urban Renewal Plan, first adopted by the City of Ballarat Council in 2019, is currently being implemented.
Cr Hudson defended the seven-storey proposal, despite the fact the renewal plan focused on apartment and office buildings between two and four storeys high.
"This [proposed building] is in a dip," Mr Hudson said.
"In terms of sightlines and impacts in other areas where there is a bit more height ... it's not necessarily going to impact on those broad-vista views."
Residents have criticised the council for holding community consultation sessions during work hours.
"I'm curious to know what kind of consultation or conversation has happened to the people who will be directly impacted by [the proposal]," Lucy said.
Cr Hudson said "people haven't missed the boat" on the consultation process.
"We have always maintained that if anyone wishes to object to any planning item, they can do that all the way up until the matter is determined by council or under delegation," he said.
