The Victorian Government announced earlier this year that 400 car parking spaces would be delivered as part of the $595.6 million Ballarat Base Hospital Redevelopment (BBHR), almost doubling the capacity of the multi-deck car park.

Works to expand the car park will start during the week commencing Monday 9 October, marking another significant milestone in the upgrade of the Ballarat Base Hospital. The expanded car park is expected to be completed by July 2024.

To enable works to commence, the hospital’s multi-deck car park will temporarily close from Monday 2 October to all visitors to the hospital including staff.

CEO Dale Fraser said Grampians Health and the Victorian Health Building Authority were working closely together to help minimise the impacts of construction while delivering this vital piece of infrastructure.

“We understand that these upcoming works may temporarily inconvenience the community including our staff and we have implemented a number of initiatives to allow those to continue to access the hospital safely during the car park expansion works,” Mr Fraser said.

“A free park and ride service from the City Oval will commence from Monday 25 September which will be similar to the service offered previously when construction works took place at the hospital. Buses will run every 15-20 minutes throughout the day, with the frequency increasing to continuous loops during peak periods. Further details will be provided as we near the commencement date of the free park and ride service.

“Staff and visitors to the hospital can also park at the City Oval for free and walk the 800 metres between the City Oval and hospital which takes about 10 minutes. I would like to thank the City of Ballarat for their support and allowing access to the City Oval while the hospital’s car park is expanded.”

Mr Fraser said the upgrade of the Ballarat Base Hospital was really starting to take shape, with construction of the first building part of the redevelopment being constructed on Drummond Street and the car park expansion works soon getting underway.

“In addition to delivering new facilities and vital clinical capacity for the hospital, the Ballarat Base Hospital Redevelopment will address the critical need to improving access for staff, patients and visitors,” Mr Fraser said.

“The expanded car park will result in improved traffic flow and a reduction in congestion when completed and I thank our staff and community for their patience and support during this time as we build a bigger and better hospital.”

Mr Fraser said the Ballarat Base Hospital Redevelopment team was committed to keeping the community up-to-date and encouraged residents to visit www.bhs.org.au/redevelopment for the latest information.

An FAQ sheet (available on the above website) has also been developed to assist with information on the expansion of the multi-deck car park at the hospital and details of the free park and ride service.

Once the Ballarat Base Hospital Redevelopment is completed, it will have the capacity to treat at least 18,000 more emergency patients and an extra 14,500 inpatients. The redevelopment will be completed over multiple stages, with construction of the final stage expected to be completed in 2027.

If the community has any questions regarding the car park expansion works, please contact the team at redevelopment@gh.org.au