The City of Launceston Council says it hopes to release the full details of a grant application for drought funding by the end of January after originally expecting them to be made public by the end of 2020.
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Launceston council received $10 million in funding from the Building Better Regions Fund, a funding pool designated for drought affected communities, to support a CBD development.
Details of the grant application were expected to be released by December 31 but general manager Michael Stretton said the council is now hoping to finalise work with stakeholders before the end of this month.
IN OTHER NEWS:
"The City of Launceston's successful, evidence-based application to the Building Better Regions Fund is exciting for our CBD, and will help create new economic activity and employment opportunities in Northern Tasmania," he said.
"The council has been finalising project details in recent weeks and is awaiting the final sign-offs from all stakeholders. While we had hoped to complete this work by December 31, we now expect it will occur early in the New Year.
"We're excited to share details of the BBRF application with the public and anticipate that will occur before the end of January."
Labor and the Greens accused the government of pork-barrelling over the funding allocation. In order to be eligible for a BBRF grant, applicants must prove they are in a drought-affected community. They must also show that the drought has affected employment in the region.
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In July the council released a statement disputing claims they were ineligible for the grant. Mr Stretton said the council's application was submitted in good faith after inquiries were made about eligibility.
He said the council had relied on 20 months of Bureau of Meteorology data from April 2018 to November 2019 to show they fit the grant criteria.
BOM data from that period of time showed a severe deficiency across small parts of Northern Tasmania with others experiencing a serious deficiency over the same period.
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