Brown Hill Progress Association
The Progress Association feedback survey regarding the future of the community pool and the potential redevelopment of the Brown Hill Reserve is now closed. Go to this link for further information:
Committee
At the Brown Hill Progress Association (BHPA) AGM in 2021, the following appointments were made:
President: Jason Tinnetti
Vice President: Sherene Mounier
Secretary: Brendan Stevens
Treasurer: Ron Damen
Newsletter Coordinator: Sarah Greenwood-Smith
Caledonian Primary School liaison: Sarah Greenwood-Smith
Grants Coordinator: Brendan Stevens
Fire Aware Coordinator: Hazen Cleary
Brown Hill Hall liaison: Brendan Stevens
Executive Committee Members: Peter Fisher, Bernie Brisbane and John O’Brien
Progress Association Membership
Brown Hill residents are encouraged to become members of the Progress Association. Annual membership is $2.00. The $2.00 payment and form can be submitted to the committee at a meeting. Please download and print the Membership Form.
Rules of the Brown Hill Progress Association
2022 Meetings
BHPA monthly meetings for 2022 will be held on the third Monday each month from 7.00pm in the rear room of the Brown Hill Hall. Meetings for 2022 will be held on:
- 21 March; 18 April; 16 May; 20 June; 18 July; 15 August; 19 September (AGM); 17 October; 21 November; 19 December
BHPA Minutes of Committee Meetings
Minutes of the monthly Brown Hill Progress Association committee and annual meetings can be found on the Meeting Minutes page.
Key Correspondence and Responses
21 JANUARY 2021: Brown Hill Progress Association wrote to City of Ballarat Sport/Aquatic Managers, with C.C to Councillors re the disappointment at how the Brown Hill swimming pool has been opened and operated this summer.
Dear Sport/Aquatic Managers,
I write this note on behalf of the General Committee of the Brown Hill Progress Association who operated and managed the Brown Hill Community Pool from the summers of 2005-6 thru to 2019-20 to express our disappointment at how this facility has been opened and operated this summer.
Firstly, a brief background and stats to give some grounding to where this disappointment comes from. In the 14 years of operation we built attendance numbers up from a closed facility to our biggest season in 2018-19 when 9427 people came through the gate. .... ACCESS FULL LETTER HERE; also Seasonal Report of the pool for 2019/2020
16 JANUARY 2021: Brown Hill Progress Association wrote to the City of Ballarat Councillors for Central and North Wards highlighting issues that members of the Association believe the Councillors need to be aware of and seeking their support to achieve further action and resolution. Extracts of letter follow:
At the Brown Hill Progress Association meeting held 5 January 2021 it was agreed to send through to you an update on several issues, some long standing, that we believe you need to be aware of as Councillors representing the residents of Brown Hill. Some are for your information only; with others it would be appreciated if you could offer assistance in furthering our endeavours.
The five issues are as follows:
1) BROWN HILL LOCAL AREA PLAN: In December 2017 Council agreed to prepare a Local Area Plan for Brown Hill. Community consultation started in mid-2018 with a “Future Growth Scenario Paper” put out for comment in the beginning of 2019. The BHPA developed a seven-page response to this request in April 2019. We have received no formal acknowledgement and no further progress has been made. It now appears that the plan has been put on hold. WHY? ... Background to Local Area Plan 1 & Local Area Plan 2;
2) TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT ON HUMFFRAY STREET NORTH AND WATER STREET IN RELATION TO LOCAL KINDERGARTEN AND SCHOOL CHILDREN
Mr Charles Cahill, the COB Traffic Project Manager, rang the BHPA secretary in mid-2020 to acknowledge a letter sent to him from a BHPA committee member who is a School Council member from Caledonian Primary School and a concerned mother of young school children attempting to cross Humffray Street North every day to walk or ride to school. We thank him for his call back but really hoped for some commitment for improvement or action by now. ...traffic management for schools.
3) LACK OF BUS SHELTERS IN THE BROWN HILL ROUTE. Is funding for provision of and improvements to the bus shelters in the Brown Hill route included in the current and ongoing Budget model? Bus shelters were not installed at many new bus-stops when Public Transport Victoria (PTV) introduced the new Ballarat Bus Network several years ago, as funding was not included. ...
4) IN DECEMBER CHW RELEASED A “BREWERY TAP RD – CONCEPT FOR DISCUSSION” PAPER CONCERNING THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHW LAND ON THE CORNER OF BREWERY TAP RD AND DAYLESFORD RD. BHPA was asked to respond, and we also met with CHW representatives. As the development of this large area of land has significant repercussions for Brown Hill please find attached our written response to CHW - FOR YOUR INFORMATION. ... Response to CHW discussion paper;
5) THE BHPA COMMITTEE ALSO EXPRESSES THEIR DISAPPOINTMENT IN THE LATE OPENING OF THE BROWN HILL COMMUNITY POOL THIS SUMMER. After managing the pool for the last 14 years we met with the Council Water facility management team in early March 2020 and handed back the management to council. ...
Access here: full letter;
JULY 2017: Brown Hill Progress Association wrote to Council seeking clarification on the planning for future housing developments within our suburb. The main issues being: No big picture traffic management; no overall planned green space between the individual developments; no community wide plan in regard to building/living in a Bushfire Prone Area. Access BHPA letter here A response from Council was received 31 July 2017. Access Council's response here
AUGUST 2017: Re Post Office Closure. Australia Post, via a notice of "changes to Brown Hill postal services" stuck on the Brown Hill post office window advised the community that "the post office was required to close at short notice". With this in mind the Progress Association wrote to Australia Post seeking their assurance that it will reinstate the post office ASAP as it is seen to be a critical community asset for Brown Hill and surrounds. The Area Manager, Nicole Brandt, responded 27 September 2017. Access Australia Post response here
History
The Brown Hill Progress Association (BHPA) was formed as an umbrella association by the existing Brown Hill Public Hall Committee at a public meeting on 14 May 1969. The meeting was chaired by His Worship Cr. M. Brown , Mayor of the City of Ballarat. The Association Aims and Objectives as per the Constitution are:
- To promote the economic, social and cultural development and progress of Ballarat as a whole and Brown Hill in particular.
- To raise funds to further these aims.
The BHPA has stuck to these aims diligently ever since its inception, with financial and manpower assistance to community members and other local organisations such as the primary school, kindergarten, swimming pool, church and community groups etc. The jewel in the crown of the BHPA has always been the Brown Hill Public Hall, which has seen several major upgrades over the years (mostly self-funded) and the adjacent Progress Park / Brown Hill Recreation Reserve. The Hall has been the focus for hundreds of social events ranging from bird shows to rock and roll dances over many years.
In 2005, the Ballarat City Council threatened to close the local pool and a public rally was held. The BHPA stepped in and the Pool Committee was formed. This committee continues to run and improve the pool with the assistance of the City of Ballarat.
The latest phase of 'development' in our suburb has come with the assistance of the Brown Hill Partnership, bringing together local schools, the kindergarten, sporting associations, business and dedicated community
members with the BHPA. The establishment of the Community Newsletter has been a great link with the community and over the next year or two we hope to develop a web presence with the Brown Hill Community Online Hub and another major upgrade to the hall to make it more multi-functional.
Contact
Email: bhpa@brownhill.vic.au
Post: PO Box 1863, Bakery Hill 3354