Ballarat council votes to appeal Heritage Victoria’s Lydiard St level crossing permit

Ballarat councillors have decided to appeal Heritage Victoria’s Lydiard St level crossing permit in a bid to have heritage gates reinstated. 

Ballarat's Lydiard St crossing with its heritage gates intact. Picture: Ballarat Historical Society

The City of Ballarat will appeal a permit issued to replace its train station's replica heritage level crossing gates after they were smashed by a runaway train.

In May 2020, a train crashed through Ballarat’s Lydiard St interlocking level crossing gates, thought to be among the last of their kind in Australia.

A permit issued by Heritage Victoria in February 2025 allowed mechanical boom gates put in place following the collision to remain at the crossing indefinitely.

The damage caused by a crash involving a passenger train at Ballarat Railway Station on May 30, 2020. Picture: V/Line Corporation via Australian Transport Safety Bureau

The restored timber gates would be publicly displayed adjacent to the tracks as a piece of the station’s history.

In issuing the permit, V/Line said it could not “reinstate a form of crossing control which does not accord with present-day standards and methods”.

Putting the old gates back, it said, posed safety risks and would affect the transport network.

Some Ballarat residents have questioned the decision, arguing the gates were unique and should be functionally reinstated.

Historical photo of the Lydiard St crossing. Picture: Ballarat Historical Society

To appeal, the City of Ballarat needs to draft a written submission to the Heritage Council of Victoria, request a review, and pay a fee by April 8.

In the council’s agenda for its March 26 meeting, officers estimate the cost of lodging an appeal to be up to $15,000, depending on the price of the related level crossing works.

They noted that, depending on decisions by the Heritage Council and state planning minister, the matter could end up in VCAT, with expert advice costing another $10,000, and lawyers up to $35,000 - leaving a total possible bill of about $60,000.

In an August 2024 letter to Heritage Victoria, the council said heritage assessments of the site “do not seem to have considered the Ballarat community’s attachment to the operating gates as a conspicuous, familiar, if prosaic, piece of daily infrastructure in the heart of the city”.

The crossing with mechanical half boom barriers, pictured in 2023.

“There is vocal support in parts of the local community for the gates to be reinstalled and to operate again which suggests that the gates may strongly demonstrate heritage significance …

“There is concern that this consideration has not been included as part of a balance assessment of the merits of this proposal to date and its omission may undermine the validity of any determination of the proposal.”

Councillors voted on whether to appeal at Wednesday’s meeting, with officers recommending a review of the permit be sought.

The motion passed, with those in favour including councillors Ted Lapkin, Des Hudson, Samantha McIntosh, Tess Morgan, and Jim Rinaldi.

The councillors against it were Damon Saunders, Ben Taylor, Jay Morrison, and Tracey Hargreaves.