Businesses required to apply for permits as restrictions ease
Ballarat Mayor Ben Taylor has ruled out granting blanket outdoor dining approvals for the city’s struggling businesses as regional Victoria’s coronavirus restrictions lift.
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Ballarat Mayor Ben Taylor has ruled out granting blanket outdoor dining approvals for the city’s struggling businesses as regional Victoria’s coronavirus restrictions lift.
From 11.59pm tonight, the regions will take the third step on the recovery road map.
Outdoor dining permit fees will be waived for Ballarat businesses until the end of January 2022 and businesses which have already paid fees will be given a refund.
Cr Taylor said he did not know how long it took for permits to be processed, but safety requirements prevented mass approval being granted.
“We still need to follow it from a public liability point of view, you’ll be able to go online, fast track your permit, get it, and the council can come back and just do the final inspections to make sure that’s it’s still safe,” he said.
“That’s the big thing, it’s about safety as well, the worst thing will be is if we’ve got injuries, and then we’ve got liability issues, that’s why the permit system is in place.
“We want to reduce the red tape and help businesses take the opportunity as quick as possible.”
Sam Rowe, co-owner of the Hydrant Food Hall, wiped away tears as he spoke to The Ballarat News about the impact restrictions had on his flourishing business.
“This decimated us, we used to have 14 staff, we will open up tomorrow and we’ll have five,” he said.
His wife Elise Rowe said their business did not have an outdoor dining permit, and would only be able to seat 20 patrons, in line with the government’s restrictions.
“We’re excited to have people in here again, the staff are excited to have people in here again,” she said.
“How long we can survive doing this? Not long, or there will be a lot of strain.”
Mr Rowe said the cap on 20 indoor diners was unstainable for businesses and his laneway location would pose challenges.
“We’re going to have to close the road off, unless council really supports us like they say they’re going to, we’ll just have to see what council says,” he said.
“It’s a struggle.”
Cr Taylor said the council would take a “relaxed” approach on outdoor furnishings to help businesses get permits as quickly as possible.
“It’s about trying to be flexible with businesses, and each business is going to be different because they have different requirements and space that’s available for them,” he said.
You can contact the City of Ballarat’s Business Help Desk by emailing economicdevelopment@ballarat.vic.gov.au or phoning 5320 5500.
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