By DEAN LAWSON

Ararat community leaders exploring socio-economic opportunities in the city want to know by the end of this year what the State Government intends to do with historic Aradale.

Ararat Rural City Council chief executive Tim Harrison said there was a pressing need to come up with a resolution for the ‘village’ precinct, most of it sitting dormant for several years.

Dr Harrison said the Ararat council had been in discussion with government, Regional Development Victoria and Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning representatives and all were committed to finding a resolution.

“But we need some indication sooner rather than later about what can be planned for the site,” he said.

“The Ararat council hopes to have some sort of resolution regarding this by the end of 2020 so we can push ahead with planning.”

Aradale, on the eastern outskirts of Ararat and originally self-contained Ararat Lunatic Asylum, features more than 60 buildings, some of them iconic parts of Ararat district landscape. 

It closed in the 1990s after opening in 1865.

The State Government owns the village and in 2017, estimates to bring some of the grand but deteriorating buildings up to standard for public use ranged between $50-million and $60-million.

Dr Harrison said it was imperative that whatever decision the government ultimately made regarding Aradale acknowledged plans to boost socio-economic opportunities for Ararat district community.

“We’re looking at the best ways the site might be used to benefit the municipality and its people and really, it is an opportunity waiting to happen,” he said.

“The council has long identified not only the historic and cultural significance of the site but also the precinct, which represents a key development area for Ararat.

“While the status quo continues and nothing happens with the site, we’re caught in a perpetual holding position where we can’t move.

“It is a considerable area of land with significant buildings and we can’t wait forever for a decision on what will happen. Ararat is a modern and evolving regional city and we need direction.”

Melbourne Polytechnic has leased part of Aradale. A building has also provided a site for Ararat U3A gatherings and the former hospital has been subject to various types of tours.

The Ararat council is leading an Ararat in Transition planning study based on a need to consider what the city and district can do to capitalise on and cope with evolving circumstances.

The plan is based on a need for further residential, commercial and industrial development to promote population growth in Ararat for the next 10 years.

The project is exploring ways of creating greater housing diversity and affordability and aims to unlock sites for commercial and business investment.