City of Launceston is scoping out sites in the Northern Suburbs for a multi-million dollar project that mayor Albert van Zetten says would improve the health and well-being of the community.
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The proposal is for a purpose-built recreational facility that would house a new Police-Citizens Youth Club, with capacity for a family healthcare centre.
The hub would also include a basketball court, an indoor play area, and an outdoor sports ground.
Alderman van Zetten said the project would be dependent on money from both the state and federal governments, as well as some public buy-in.
“It depends what land you get and where you get it, you could be talking $5 million to $7 million dollars or more, so it’s not going to be cheap, but I believe it will be an investment that will be very important for the Northern Suburbs,” he said.
“I think it’s time as a community that we did more for the Northern Suburbs, and that’s where this is coming from.”
The council has been working with a number of stakeholders behind the scenes to get the project off the ground.
“This proposal would have a huge impact across the Northern Suburbs, in terms of social benefits to families and particularly the youth of the region,” alderman van Zetten said.
“But it goes much further than that – from improved health outcomes and reduced health inequities that currently exist.
“It also extends to improved economic benefits, employment opportunities, and giving people the opportunity to engage in sport and other recreational activities they would normally not have the opportunity to engage in.”
PCYC recreation intervention specialist Ross McIvor said the Northern Suburbs was a perfect location for a facility. “There’s a great need for it in this area,” he said.
“The current location is not really serving the needs of the people in the Northern Suburbs - they find it hard to get to that location.
“It’s a great facility, but it’s not really in the right spot for a traditional PCYC, so I’m very excited about the possibility, and I think the organisation would love to be part of it.”
Mr McIvor said transport was the biggest issue for people getting to the current facility.
“We also find it’s also out of their comfort zone for a lot of people - travelling to that side of town - it’s not what they are comfortable with.
“So this project is exactly what the PCYC was created for - being in an area where there are identified needs."
Alderman van Zetten said initial conversations with state politicians were “quite positive”.
“If we can find the site, I would have thought in 18 months or two years we should be able to see something exciting happen,” he said.
