First renders depict $14.5m Ballarat Regional Animal Facility
Designs have been revealed for a new Ballarat animal shelter described as the “single biggest improvement to animal welfare services” for the region in 100 years.
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The design of a $14.5m regional animal shelter representing the “single biggest improvement to animal welfare services in this region in a century” has been revealed.
Documents before the City of Ballarat show architectural plans for the Ballarat Regional Animal Facility on Waringa Dr in Mitchell Park, which will be nearly five years in the making once completed.
The new shelter is meant to boost the standard of care for stray, lost, abandoned, and abused animals, improve the city’s quarantining of dangerous animals and infection control, and provide emergency boarding for animals in emergencies.
It is expected to help animals from Ballarat and beyond, including the Hepburn, Moorabool, Golden Plains, Pyrenees, Ararat, and Central Goldfields areas.
Documents reveal up to 65 dogs and 158 cats will fit in the new shelter, and space will be available for birds, “pocket pets”, and livestock.
The development will include pens, wash areas, a vet treatment room, food preparation room, cool room, laundry, storage, exercise yards, and offices for up to 15 staff members.
The shelter will be open from 7am to 6pm every day.
In October 2021, the City of Ballarat put forward $200,000 to develop plans for a new animal shelter to replace the repurposed abattoir in Alfredton now caring for more than 2000 animals a year.
In May the following year, the state government put up $11.5m for the project, with an architect appointed in 2023 and tender documents released in October 2024.
The council is contributing $3m in total.
Construction of the Ballarat Regional Animal Facility is expected to begin in January 2025 and finish in early 2026.
The Alfredton site will be assessed by the city regarding its future use.
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