Builder named for Bendigo court precinct development

A builder has been appointed to undertake the redevelopment of the former Bull Street police station in the historic Bendigo court precinct, Attorney-General, Robert Clark, announced today.

The Department of Justice has awarded the building contract for the refurbishment of the former police station in Bull Street for use as the Bendigo Justice Service Centre to builder Hansen Yuncken.

The redevelopment will provide an additional courtroom and enhanced court facilities such as remote witness rooms, and CCTV.

There will also be dedicated spaces for lawyers to interview their clients and additional judicial chambers.

The project will also include Justice Service Centre providing ‘one-stop shop’ access to services such as Consumer Affairs, Births Deaths and Marriages services, Dispute Resolution, Offending Behaviour Programs, Sheriffs and Community Correctional Services.

Mr Clark said the project was a major step forward in improving court facilities in Bendigo.

“Not only will the new courtroom provide more and better facilities for court users, it will also free up police time by allowing more prisoners to be held at the court pending trial, reducing the time police have needed to spend shuttling prisoners to and from police cells since the police station was moved to High Street in 2007.”

“With construction set to begin early in the New Year, we are hopeful construction will be complete by the end of 2014.”

Coalition Members for the Northern Victoria Region, Wendy Lovell, Amanda Millar and Damian Drum have welcomed the announcement of the successful tender, saying it was great news for the Bendigo community.

“This project has received widespread support from the Bendigo community and legal professionals and will provide much-needed capacity for the future while restoring a historical feature of the town.” Mr Drum said.

The awarding of the construction tender follows a detailed planning process to ensure the development meets the needs of the community while preserving the heritage elements of the building.