Glenorchy City Council’s ordinary meeting for February 2022 was held on Monday, 28 February. Council meetings are currently being conducted via video link due to COVID safety requirements, but are live streamed on Council’s Facebook and YouTube pages.
Regional Sport, Recreation and Entertainment Masterplan
Glenorchy is one step closer to becoming the premier sporting and entertainment hub for Tasmania, following Council’s unanimous endorsement of Regional Sport, Recreation and Entertainment Masterplan.
Glenorchy is home to a cluster of major sport, recreation and entertainment facilities all within walking distance to each other.
The cluster includes MyState Bank Arena (formerly the Derwent Entertainment Centre), Elwick Racecourse, the KGV precinct, Hobart Showgrounds and Wilkinsons Point and has the potential to be one of Tasmania’s major sporting and entertainment precincts.
Given the interim name ‘Glenorchy Park’, the endorsed Masterplan draws inspiration from similar precincts around Australia, such as Albert Park in Melbourne and Moore Park in Sydney.
Mayor of Glenorchy, Bec Thomas, said the potential of the site was enormous, and welcomed potential investment in the city and its job creating potential.
“With more than $150 million of investment coming into the Glenorchy Park area, we want to make sure the people of Glenorchy can enjoy all the benefits it offers,” Mayor Thomas said.
“Through this plan we will see more jobs, better connections to our beloved Montrose Bay foreshore and access to incredible facilities and open spaces to work and play.”
Among the actions in the masterplan are proposals for innovative solutions to event parking and public transport, safer accessible pedestrian linkages between facilities so people can go from one event to another or visit adjoining restaurants and cafes.
Settlement reached with Glenorchy District Football Club over KGV dispute
Following the negotiation of a settlement between Council and the Glenorchy District Football Club, Council formally approved the waiver of a $55,000 debt in relation to the club’s occupation of the KGV Sport and Community Facility.
The settlement marks the end of a long and complex dispute between Council and the Club related to the construction of the KGV facility, which was plagued by construction problems and legal issues dating back to the project’s inception in 2012.
The KGV facility project was funded through $8,700,000 grant from the Commonwealth Government in 2012 to develop a sporting and community hub located within the King George V Precinct.
While practical completion of the building was reached in 2016, the project was plagued by issues ranging from building defects to time delays and cost blowouts, with ongoing work required to fix all outstanding issues.
The amount being waived relates to the Club’s occupation of the building since 2016, and follows Council and the club entering into a confidential settlement agreement, which recognises the difficulties faced by the club during its relocation to the new KGV building from its old clubrooms and since moving in.
Despite the full details of the settlement reached remaining confidential, Council was required under the Local Government Act 1993 to formally approve the write off of the $55,000 debt.
Council was advised that there were no reasonable prospects of recovering the debt and that the complex nature of the dispute meant the costs of pursuing a legal solution would greatly exceed any amount recovered.
Capital Works and Major Projects updates
Council received an update on significant capital works projects being undertaken, which are at various staged from initial planning through to construction. Among the updates provided were:
- Construction is underway on the new $620,000 Eady Street (Jesse James) Oval facilities building in Glenorchy, with completion expected by July.
- A planning application has been lodged for the new Montrose Foreshore Skatepark facility, with expected commencement in May or June.
- Designs and other preliminary work for the $3.4m new Regional Playspace for Giblins Reserve in Goodwood are complete, with the project to go to tender as soon as formal changes to the funding agreement are approved by the Federal Government.
- Construction has commenced on the $2.9m Jackson Street Landfill extension project, to construct a new landfill cell which will extend the life of the facility by over a decade.
- Negotiations and re-scoping works continue on a series of projects to fund major upgrades to soccer facilities in the northern suburbs (including at KGV soccer ground and North Chigwell Oval, funded under a $12.8m grant from the Australian Government.
Glenorchy City Council’s next meeting will be held on Monday, 28 March at 6:00 pm. The meeting will streamed live on Council’s Facebook and YouTube channels.