October 31st, 2023Christmas countdown call to jingle tills in revamped Bridge Mall

The City of Ballarat is encouraging the wider community to support their favourite shops and businesses in the Bridge Mall in the lead up to Christmas.

With less than nine weeks of retail trade until Christmas, there has never been a better time to check out the progress in construction works for the $18.6 million Bridge Mall redevelopment while supporting local traders.  

All shops are open as normal and the City of Ballarat is encouraging shoppers to continue to visit the great local businesses in the area.  

At the Peel Street end of the mall, the bulk excavation and concreting are almost complete, forging the base for the road alignment and the planned central event space.  

This week, night works began at the front of businesses on the south side of this construction area. Next week, night works will take place at the front of businesses on the north side. All businesses will remain easily accessible for customers during trading hours with works being conducted at night to minimise disruption to businesses.

Works on the Grenville Street section of the redevelopment are also forging ahead with ongoing underground service works, including signals and water lines.

There have been changes to the staging of works in the mall during the busy pre-Christmas period which will provide additional space for shoppers towards the Peel Street end. This new staging better aligns with forecast delivery dates for paving while enabling construction to remain on schedule for completion mid-2024.

Under the new staging, temporary fencing will be removed from most of the new concreted works at the Peel Street end in the next few weeks.

Lower fencing protecting garden beds and some materials storage will remain until paving of the area and installation of the new street furniture, landscaping and kerbing, which will commence early next year.

Excavation works will shortly begin in the mid-section of the Bridge Mall.

In the lead up to Christmas, pedestrian access has been improved and widened from Sturt Street into the mall while the newly concreted area of the mall will be available for traders to use for Christmas promotions and activities.

The City of Ballarat is working with contractor 2Construct, the Bridge Mall Business Association and all traders to minimise the impact of construction as much as possible. However, as with any major development, there will be unavoidable impacts to businesses and community while construction occurs.  

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson encouraged the community to get behind their favourite businesses in the mall this Christmas.

“I encourage everyone to shop local and support Bridge Mall traders this Christmas,” he said.

“The lead up to Christmas is a critical time for all of our retailers, especially here in the Bridge Mall this year.

“While the works are ongoing, it is exciting to see concreting almost finished at the Peel Street end of the mall and the redevelopment beginning to take shape.

“Once completed, the Bridge Mall revitilisation project will bring renewed heart and soul to this historic retail precinct in the centre of Ballarat.”

Bridge Mall Business Association President Wendy McLachlan said it is exciting to see the progress of the redevelopment and the commencement of works at Norwich Plaza, all in the lead up to Christmas.

“Christmas in the mall will be bigger than ever with all our events planned as usual, Santa will be arriving early December, and our markets will continue in the new space available as well as at Bakery Hill,” she said.

“We will be holding our Christmas festival as usual in the new space, as well as our Secret Santa gift voucher giveaway, which will be bigger than ever this year.

“All businesses will be full of stock for Christmas and easily accessible from all entrances. Support local while enjoying the festive season.”

The Bridge Mall redevelopment will feature a landscaped entry into the mall, a shared streetscape with one-way, low speed vehicle access and a dynamic new play space.

The redevelopment also includes a portal to the Yarrowee River flowing beneath the mall, smart street lighting and projections, limited parking and better access for people of all abilities.