There are plans to move about 50 government employees out of Launceston's CBD, amid anxiety around the city's struggling retail sector.
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The Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment Department has confirmed it plans to relocate staff, the majority of which are working in Henty House in Civic Square, to state government offices at Prospect.
According to DPIPWE, the aim of the project is to consolidate "dispersed" employees into a single location.
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It would bring the number of DPIPWE staff at Prospect and the Mount Pleasant Laboratories to about 250.
"Staff will ... be provided contemporary office accommodation, improved office facilities and equipment and up-to-date technology," a DPIPWE spokesperson said.
"Any movement of staff will be planned to minimise disruption to services.
"DPIPWE is engaging with staff and is continuing to consult."
Costs and timeframes for the move are yet to be finalised.
The government went to the 2018 state election promising to move 100 DPIPWE jobs from the South to the North and North-West, in an effort to further decentralise government services.
Since the policy was implemented in June 2018, more than 50 positions have been created across both central and regional sites.
Community and Public Sector Union assistant secretary Thirza White said relocating DPIPWE employees would result in people working in offices that weren't fit for purpose in terms of the tasks they undertake.
"It's causing quite a lot of angst," Ms White said. "From a union point-of-view, these decisions don't seem to be made based on looking at what people do and what the implications are of that."
Four Heritage Tasmania employees work in the Public Buildings on St John Street and would have to move under DPIPWE's plan.
Ms White said this was problematic due to the fact most of Launceston's heritage properties were located in and around the CBD, while few were located at Prospect.
"One of the big concerns that's been raised ... is the impact that this [move] will have on the Launceston city centre," she said.
"We're having conversations about the need to revitalise city centers to get more people into them and yet the public sector ... [wants] to move people out."
The City of Launceston Council last year commissioned a report into the challenges facing retail in the CBD, following anecdotal evidence from traders who believed retail businesses in the city centre were suffering.
We're having conversations about the need to revitalise city centers to get more people into them and yet the public sector ... [wants] to move people out.
- Thirza White, CPSU assistant secretary
Launceston Chamber of Commerce chief executive Neil Grose said DPIPWE's relocation plan was a "double-edged sword".
"The CBD relies very heavily upon those that work in there for a lot of its trade," he said. "And to see 50 people move to the outskirts is probably not great."
"The bigger picture is what DPIPWE is doing up at Mount Pleasant, which is building a stronger presence in the North. [That's] overall very positive for Launceston."