The state government has been urged to compulsorily acquire land in Ballan for a new CFA facility amid concerns authorities are looking to build the facility elsewhere.
Moorabool council has written to Emergency Services Minister James Merlino, Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley and the CFA board to ensure the “critical community facility” remains in town.
Following the permanent closure of the CFA firefighter training centre in Fiskville, the state government announced it was committed to building a new site in Ballan, which is 10 kilometres north of Fiskville. However,
Star Weekly understands authorities are looking at sites near Parwan and Bacchus Marsh to build a new firefighter training facility.
Moorabool council says building the facility in Ballan is “critical” to securing jobs and providing economic benefits to the town.
The controversial training site was closed last year after chemical residue was found in water tanks used for firefighter training. The site has also been linked to a cancer cluster.
A spokesman for acting Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville said Fiskville’s closure ended a “dark chapter” in the state’s firefighting services. He said the state government had committed $46.2 million for new training facilities, including one in the Central Highlands region, covering Ararat, Ballarat, Golden Plains, Hepburn, Moorabool and Pyrenees shires.
“The CFA is in the process of identifying a site in the region that suits the needs of modern firefighter training,” the spokesman said.
He would not be drawn on when an announcement would be made or if the state government could reassure the community a training facility would be built in Ballan.
A CFA spokesman said it was continuing to “work on identifying” an alternative training site in the Central Highlands.
Ballan resident Ben Hatfield has started an online petition calling on residents to support a new facility in town. He said the community had not only been “deeply” affected by the health and environmental impacts of the facility but also by its permanent closure.
“In the latest blow to the Ballan community, the proposed new CFA training ground looks set not to be located in the Ballan area,” the petition states. The petition is at change.org/p/craig-lapsley-keep-cfa-training-in-ballan-area.
