Ford site bid revealed

Andrew Mathieson
A GEELONG market operator has revealed ambitious plans to bring all the city’s op shops together under one roof in a disused Ford building on Melbourne Road.
Mill Markets’ Ian Ballis told stallholders from his Newcomb outlet he also intended to open a recycling centre on the site.
Mr Ballis outlined his plans while talking about 40 stallholders on a tour of the site this week.
A tour member said Mr Ballis had keys to the site as he told the group about his plans.
Mr Ballis told the group he had bought the 13-hectare site, which formerly housed an engine and chassis plant.
The tour member said Mr Ballis also talked about potential use of a neighbouring reserve for hosting circuses.
Mr Ballis told the group a historical railway club had expressed interest in laying a spurline for steam trains around the site.
Mr Ballis refused to discuss the site when the Independent contacted him this week.
He said a “confidentiality agreement” prevented him from commenting on the future of the site.
However, Mr Ballis said he was “one of four interested buyers”.
A City Pacific spokesperson confirmed the site was for sale but declined to comment further.
The North Geelong property has been for sale since Queensland property developer City Pacific bought it from Quay Developments.
The company sold the site after dumping its proposal for a 41,000-square-metre big-box homemaker centre called HomeTown in 2007. An independent panel found that Geelong councillors had ignored their own planning policies when they amended City Hall’s retail strategy to pave the way for HomeTown.
Harbour manager Toll Geelong Port had opposed the proposal, arguing a retail centre on the site would hamper industrial development.
The site is zoned for industrial purposes, so the markets project would need a planning scheme amendment.
Geelong Manufacturing Coun-cil executive officer David Peart said the land was a prime manufacturing site.
“It’s definitely a strategic site for transport because it’s located close to all road, rail and sea links,” he said.
Toll Geelong Port had not returned the Independent’s calls for comment before the paper went to press yesterday.