Bulldozers have been brought in for the demolition of the Brown Hill community pool, with one resident, who had fought for the pool 20 years ago, calling it a "crying shame". In 2002, Bonnie Black spoke at a council meeting to keep the pool open, but now 21 years later, she saw bulldozers on the site. Ms Black said she had been swimming in the pool since the 1980s. "It's disgraceful," she said. "It's an asset the council should have kept, not destroyed." Council has a plan for Brown Hill Recreation Reserve including a splash park, which council voted in favour for when the pool was decommissioned the pool. Ms Black said Brown Hill is a growing community which needs a local community pool. "The area doesn't need a splash park, it needs a swimming pool for the public," she said. "People are going to have to travel now, burning up fossil fuel travelling to pools when they could be riding their bikes to the Brown Hill Community Pool." The demolition of the pool is expected to be completed in January to February 2024 and estimated to cost $230,000. The City of Ballarat appointed Fraser Design to design the new splash park for the site, with the plans expected to be finalised in March to April 2024. Ballarat mayor Des Hudson said the council acknowledged there was a "range of community views" of the reserve redevelopment, "The final decision was based on consultation and operational factors to inform the proposed best long-term outcome for the reserve," he said. "The new splash park will be a fantastic community asset as identified in the Brown Hill Recreation Reserve Master Plan." Council reported the cost to upgrade the Hill pool would have been more than $1.3 million, and the low visitation and high running costs were also factors in the decision to decommission the pool. A survey from the Brown Hill Progress Association in 2021 found the pool was "an important community resource for this side of town" but it needed to be upgraded to be more appealing. There was an election commitment from the state government of $1 million towards the redevelopment of Brown Hill Recreation Reserve, while the City of Ballarat has committed $660,000 from the 2023-24 budget towards the Splash Park Precinct.