In Ballarat there lays a place
To entertain us all;
Where artists can fill up the space
That’s known as Civic Hall.
But Council wants to claim its land,
And pull it down they say;
Which I would dare to understand
Would be a sad old day …

With little thought they’ve gone ahead
With plans all of their own;
To use the place that I have said
We all have seen and known.
So it is up to each of us
To stand up good and tall;
That we may kick up such a fuss
Concerning Civic Hall …

With this in mind I ask of you
A simple thing indeed;
To show the Council it is true
That such a hall we need.
Where folk have come to strut their stuff
In shows that have been grand;
And now we find it all so tough
That they should want its land …

We need a place, our own to call,
Where songs  are loud and true;
Where echoes bounce off every wall
In front of me and you.
We need a place, so grand indeed,
With space to fill so well –
And one such place that we all need
Should have so much to tell …

So let us dare to make a stand
To save this hall we know;
To do the things with it that’s planned
Since first it came on show.
For it’s stood grand in its good place
Since ’56, and all;
And to this day we need this space
That’s known as Civic Hall.

Deadline for submissions to Council 5pm, Friday 14 March 2014

Now the City of Ballarat has lodged its application for demolition of the Civic Hall the community only has until 14 March to make its objections.

Tell Council what the Civic Hall means to YOU and YOUR COMMUNITY.

SCH Demolition Application Flyer

Council’s application is to demolish our 1956 modernist /late Deco Civic Hall, the carpark, skateboard park and all the trees.

This is Ballarat’s largest hall, seating 1500 in the main hall, 400 in the Lower Hall. It was ideal for large scale events such as rock concerts, trade shows, home shows, festivals, balls etc. It would be GREAT for Ballarat International Foto Biennale, great for the Rockabilly festival, Diwali Festival of Light etc, and we know the building is structurally sound.

Council has no plans for what is to replace it (despite that is one of their own requirements). It is not planning to build a park, or another large hall to replace it. Their application does not mention the social significance of the Civic Hall. Its only “vision” for community use has been a suggestion for an outdoor, standing-only space for 3,000 people (in Ballarat!!!). This is the so called “Fed Square” solution. 

The focus of both the application and the developers who’ve supported it is on commercial development – more shops & offices.

Environmentally it’s a disaster, with the loss of embodied energy and loss of a significant pocket park and its 60 native plants, birds and butterflies, many protected species. And we know that the greenest building is the one that already exists.

You can read the application on Council’s website 

Submissions can be one sentence or longer, or on Council forms, or submitted online.