The City of Launceston council may push ahead with its plans to lease public land to the University of Tasmania to build a $5 million car park in Invermay despite objections to the proposed lease.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The proposed new car park will create more than 850 spaces for the public and UTAS students and staff as part of the university's $360 million relocation plans.
The council received five representations objecting to its intention to lease the land to UTAS and will consider them at its Thursday meeting.
At its March 19 meeting, the council voted in favour to lease the 2 Invermay Road site, near Forster Street, to UTAS for a period of 20 years with an option to extend. However it had to notify the public of its intentions and accept public comment before the lease could be entered into.
One objection came from Tasbreeders, the organisation said the lease meant it would be unable to use the site for its Tasmanian Magic Millions Yearling Sales in February 2021.
Council's legal services team leader Duncan Campbell said it was willing to work with the organisation to identify other sites on council owned land for future TMMYS events.
"Council officers have, with consent, provided the details of Tasbreeders to UTAS with a view to UTAS allowing the event to occur in 2021 as planned," he said.
The Tasmanian Ratepayers Association objected on five grounds. It said the zoning did not support subdividing leases and it was not fit for a large scale car park.
The Northern Tasmanian Network Partners and Associates objected on five grounds also noting the car park would be an unsustainable development.
Two seperate representations from individuals, whose names were publicly withheld, mentioned alternative options for the site, issues with the plans and the traffic impact.
However the conclusion by council staff found none of the objections established that the lease would be contrary to public interest.
The lease was subject to the Launceston Show Society surrendering its existing lease to the council and UTAS obtaining a planning permit for the car park in future.
If the lease is granted and the car park is approved, UTAS will foot the bill and the council will receive all revenue from the public car park, with the exception of UTAS staff/students that have a valid parking permit.
What do you think? Have your say with a letter to the editor:
Isobel Cootes
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
More from Local News
DAILY
Your morning news
Today's top stories curated by our news team. Also includes evening update.
