North Tasmanian councils outline their state election priorities

Most municipalities have sent their wish lists to each of the major parties, in hopes of securing the funding to ensure upgrades to infrastructure, sports and recreation facilities and community assets.

Most councils' wish list amounts to millions of dollars, with funding already promised by the parties for some of the projects.

The new governance structure and $209m redevelopment of University of Tasmania Stadium heads the City of Launceston council's funding priorities, alongside a $2.5m upgrade of the Princess Theatre, $1m in new drainage and lighting for the Birch Avenue soccer ground, $3m for CBD traffic flow improvements and $3.1m upgrades to the NTCA Ground.

Launceston acting mayor Danny Gibson said the council had a clear line of sight over which projects it believed were key for the community for some time.

"This council's priority projects will realise genuine benefits to a large number of people in our community - from sporting clubs, those in our arts and cultural sectors and motorists who frequent the CBD," he said.

"And if they are picked up by the parties during this election campaign, they will also help boost our local economy significantly, not just in the short term but over coming years as well."

The wish list included a focus on redeveloping Bracknell, including $5m for reticulated sewerage, $300,000 to upgrade the recreation ground lighting, $200,000 for a remembrance memorial and $400,000 for a replacement of the town's hall.

It also identified $200,000 for Deloraine's river walk/street lighting, $2m to upgrade Valley Central Industrial Precinct and $500,000 to upgrade the Westbury Road intersection.

In addition to infrastructure, the council is also looking at sports and recreation facility upgrades including $110,000 for Las Vegas Drive playground, $300,000 to upgrade Westbury Recreation Ground lighting, $800,000 to upgrade Prospect Vale Park car park/access and $1m to upgrade the Launceston City Football Club change rooms.

Alongside $200,000 for refurbishment of Whitemore tennis courts, $300,000 for a Deloraine pump track, $600,000 for a Meander River boating and fishing platform and to extend the walk, $200,000 for a feasibility study for a Meander Falls tourism road, $400,000 for the Westbury town centre upgrade and $100,000 to improve the old Meander Primary School site.

The council hopes to secure $16.5m to upgrade the main streets of Perth, Longford and Campbell Town.

Its election wish list also includes including $5m to build a shared pathway across the South Esk River to connect Pateena and Illawarra roads, $1.1m to extend the pathway from Old Hobart Road to Youngtown, $1.3m to purchase the old Longford police station and redevelop it into a community house and $5.5m for a Longford motorsport museum.

Smaller recreation projects included:

The George Town Council has identified 17 priority projects it hopes for state government support on, including an $18-$20m aquatic, health and wellbeing centre in the municipality, the $5m Macquarie Street Precinct, $50,000 for the York Cove redevelopment precinct and construction of a shared Hillwood foreshore trail.

For road infrastructure, the council wants to upgrade Glen Road with $1.4m, $1.7m for East Arm Road and $6m to upgrade the East Tamar Highway and Hillwood Road intersection.

Alongside funding for a business development officer at the town's chamber of commerce, a masterplan for the George Town Yacht Club, Bellingham Foreshore and Low Head penguin visitor experience, $300,000 for upgraded amenities at Hillwood Recreation Ground and $1.2m to create a shared pathway from Anne Street to the existing Low Head trail.

It also wants $330,000 to reopen the Hillwood outdoor rock climbing facility, $1m to build a rock wall at Lagoon Beach, $50,000 to develop a viewing and interpretation area at 65 Low Head Road, install wayfinding signage and maps throughout the municipality and develop a $300,000 Aboriginal education and cultural tourism trail.

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The only thing identified by the council's general manager Greg Ingham as a priority for the municipality ahead of the election was for the Swanwick treatment plant to be transferred back to TasWater. As it had ended up in council's ownership and he said the council would like to transfer it back.

The council identified 11 priority projects in the municipality ahead of the state election, with six of the project linked to improving road infrastructure across the area.

It includes duplicating the West Tamar Highway between the roundabout at Acropolis Drive and Freshwater Road, Legana, duplication of the highway at Barnes Hill, Riverside, building roundabouts at the intersection of the highway and Glen Ard Mohr Road and Frankford Main Road, Exeter, and major stabilisation and reconstruction of the highway between Rosevears Drive and McEwans Road, extending Glen Ard Mohr Road to create a link to Gravelly Beach Road.

Outside of road projects, the municipality is hoping to secure funding for a Legana recreation precinct, replacement of the Riverside Aquatic Centre, stage two of the upgrades to the Exeter Recreation Centre, a Cimitiere Point River hub project and to improve the recreation corridor from Launceston to Legana.

The number one project for the municipality is a $1.3m rebuild and upgrade of Victoria Street, Scottsdale mayor Greg Howard said.

However, he said due to COVID-19 the council was not expecting the usual funding but it had identified a few priority projects.

"Our priority projects always revolve around infrastructure, so roads, bridges and community infrastructure because all rural municipalities with large areas and small populations always have a large road network, large bridge network and not a big enough rate base to fund them," he said.

Other projects included redevelopment/beautifying the old Derby depot site, a green flow bike trail at Derby and upgrade to Charles Street, Bridport.

The council identified three priority projects in the municipality including the Georges Bay foreshore track Parnella linkage, Tasman Highway/Great Eastern Drive upgrade and a new St Helens Police Station with housing.

The Parnella linkage would connect the existing path at O'Connors Beach through to Steiglitz to create about 3.26 kilometres of trail around Georges Bay.

It hopes for a complete upgrade of the highway from the bottom of St Marys Pass to the upgrades at Dianas Basin, as well as north of St Helens to the Gladstone Road intersection.

The final project is to build a new police station at St Helens to ensure "adequate facilities" for officers, staff and the community, alongside two to three houses for officers to live in.

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