Outdoor Dining Hubs – Share Your Thoughts

The City of Ballarat is keen to hear peoples’ experience of outdoor dining hubs in the CBD, established in support of local restaurants and cafes impacted by the pandemic restrictions. 
 
Operating in Armstrong Street, Sturt Street and McKenzie Lane, the dining hubs provide weather protection and a great vantage point for enjoying the street life of Ballarat, particularly during major events such as the Begonia Festival. 
 
These temporary outdoor dining spaces are scheduled to be removed after Easter, but Council wants to hear from its community first to determine whether the community enjoyed them, and if they would like to see a similar set up again.  
 
Ballarat Mayor, Cr Daniel Moloney says the hubs have allowed clusters of restaurants and cafes to expand their outdoor dining footprint and an opportunity to trial a new way of dining in Ballarat. 
 
“While COVID-19 has been extremely difficult for this sector, it also created opportunities for Council, community and businesses to think and operate differently,” he said. 
 
Now the City wants local businesses and the wider community to share their thoughts on the future of Ballarat’s outdoor dining. 
   
Should Council consider further opportunities to use car parking spaces to create expanded outdoor dining space, or should we revert to the way we previously dined outdoors?
 
Share your opinions on Council's mySay page here. It will only take five minutes. 
 
In addition to the hubs, the City is currently working with hospitality venues across Ballarat to help create more comfortable and inviting outdoor dining spaces to improve capacity in the event of further restrictions on patron numbers and greater social distancing.  These measures include the installation of glass wind barriers and umbrella sockets more widely across Ballarat.  
 
Both of these infrastructure initiatives have been funded by the Victorian Government's Local Councils Outdoor Eating and Entertainment Package and the City of Ballarat.