Council will act as a Planning Authority at this WEDNESDAY's Council Meeting – starting 1pm to approve or disapprove the GEORGE TOWN HUB. This is the first item on the Agenda after Public Question Time.
Copies of the AGENDA are available to the Public from Council Chambers – all 345 pages of it!
31 REPRESENTATIONS are included – 1 for and 30 AGAINST the Development Application.
Unfortunately, most of the reports have been scan/copied onto the Agenda and the printing is so small we had difficulty reading it!
How can Councillors be expected to read – and understand - so many pages of very small print between Friday and Wednesday afternoons?
And how can they make an informed decision on this contentious issue unless THEY DO READ EVERYTHING?
The Agenda is also on the Council website – but be warned Part 1 is 12 MB! Click here.
Matthew Clarke of HOBART firm Johnstone McGee & Gandy Pty Ltd has prepared the report that evaluates and responds to the Lester Franks' planners Claire Gregg's and Rebecca Green's Planning Application and the Representations.
We find some of his conclusions and interpretations of the George Town Planning Scheme QUESTIONABLE to say the least!
However, Mr Clarke presumes to be better informed than members of the Tasmanian Planning Commission who approved the Amendment for a 'Civic' Building as a Discretionary use, BUT considered the purpose of the Hub did not entirely fit the "Civic" description, but was more an "Education" and "Health" use class!
Does he really believe all those rooms on the plan are for MEETINGS? 355 square metres of them?
And that they won't be used for EDUCATIONAL or HEALTH purposes?
Or that there will be NO fence around the outdoor playground – right next to the road?
We wonder if he's ever been to George Town and seen the effect this building could have.
The Agenda also includes a 28 page Traffic and Parking Report – that was NOT AVAILABLE with the other Planning Documents, so no-one has had a chance to respond to it! It was obviously done in a hurry using NSW and Southern Tasmanian data.
This hastily prepared report seems to be 're-assessing' the complete parking requirements for all the buildings on Regent Square, but almost ignores the fact that staff and patrons of the businesses right along the main section and further, of Macquarie St use these parks.
And if there is a bus trip for a community group there could be another 20 or more cars parked there for the day!
This is how Mr Clarke justifies this building on our public recreation reserve:
"The proposed building will be government owned has been designed for use by a number of government administered community services, including a Service Tasmania office, Centrelink services, meeting rooms, a Learning and Information Network Centre (LINC) and child family centre (CFC) and public indoor spaces.
Whilst the LINC could be classified as a 'Education Establishment' under the scheme it is a resource link to the Centrelink and Service Tasmania functions and as such is considered and integral and incidental use under Clause 2.6.1.
[ IT IS A PUBLIC LIBRARY FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE! AND NOT PERMITTED! ]
The CFC may be viewed by some as a 'Health Centre' however as no professional child care is proposed; this is not consistent with this definition.
Accordingly, the CFC areas are considered assembly areas, which is consistent with the Civic Building use class."
And yet Claire Gregg's report says: "It is NOT a Place of Assembly..."
THIS IS QUITE AN ELABORATE SET-UP FOR A GLORIFIED PLAY GROUP!
Now, what is that old saying? "A rose by any other name ... ..."
or maybe it's a "wolf in sheep's clothing"? 
"Friends of Regent Square"
1 comment:
Is Georgetown so short of spare land that it has to build this monstrosity on a public park?
Recreational land can become the most precious resource in any community, just look at Central Park in New York, Hyde Park in Sydney, City Park in Launceston, St David's Park in Hobart.
Public parks exhibit a respect for a community's value that it has in itself. Of course it could become the site of another supermarket a chocolate factory of welfare offices,all worthy facilities for a community, but it can never be regained by the community.
Fight or lose it Georgetown.
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