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This central feature of our town plan, drawn up by Governor Lachlan Macquarie on his first visit to Van Diemen's Land in December 2011, has been the venue for most public celebrations and activities since the town was built. An application - long overdue - for it to be added to the Tasmanian Heritage Register was accepted in October 2010, although no assessment has been carried out , due to 'limited human and financial resources'.
The Government, and a slight majority of local councillors, have ignored the historic and cultural heritage of Regent Square, and the hundreds of George Town people who indicated their objections in numerous letters and petitions to State Parliament.
The proposed building will effectively cut off Macquarie St (our main street) from this iconic feature of our town plan. Although only a one storey building, the Hub is only slightly lower than the purpose built stadium wing of the Memorial Hall next door, and will completely obliterate the vistas across the Square from the north, and from the western end of Macquarie St – a desirable feature of any town square!
Elizabeth St has the majority of the town’s remaining heritage buildings and this large modern LINC along with its bus lay-by will dominate the SW corner. It makes a mockery of the council’s proposal for a ‘heritage precinct’ in this street. In fact it makes a mockery of George Town’s recent hard-won status as an ‘historic town’ and the plans that are underway to celebrate its Bicentenary in December this year!
I am not against a Child and Family Centre and the services it promises, but most of these are already available in other premises. A stand-alone CFC could be built on one of several other sites in George Town. There has been ongoing consultation with some of the younger people and those who will use the CFC, but none at all in relation to the LINC component, nor with the wider community.
When community representatives asked for a slightly larger library during the redevelopment of the Memorial Hall, Library personnel insisted it was big enough. Now, only a few years after its refurbishment at our community’s expense, they tell us we need an entirely new separate building – only a few metres away. This Hub offers little more in the way of services, but will draw activities and revenue from buildings that are funded by ratepayers.
In the past, councils provided premises for services such as libraries, courts, Service Tas., etc in return for rent. Recently, governments have built their own premises, resulting in lost revenue and under-utilised buildings that still cost councils (ie ratepayers) money. The old Court Room in the Council Chambers - a spacious, Blackwood lined area - has been virtually unused since around 2003. What happens when both Housing and Service Tasmania vacate?
The CFC and the LINC were originally two separate entities – as they are in almost all other towns. If George Town didn’t have a large square in the centre of the town, there would have been no difficulty in finding another site for these buildings if, indeed they are both really needed - and I doubt they are!
Lorraine Wootton, Low Head.
1 comment:
Where has the Heritage Minister been during the past two years?
If it is good enough for NSW to treat their Macquarie Heritage sites seriously then it is good enough for us.
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