As I walk around our city, I'm regularly reminded of how special and unique Launceston is.
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Those who have come before us have left many legacies, from our parks and public spaces to our wonderful built heritage and community facilities like QVMAG and the Albert Hall.
It's often said that if you want to see Launceston's built heritage, all you have to do is look up.
Within our CBD, the upper stories of many buildings provide an insight into the city's past, with old shop signage and architectural flourishes hinting at earlier times.
Launceston is a city that is rightfully proud of its past and looks back fondly at past achievements and traditions.
But Launceston is also a city undergoing change and one that must be future focused.
Across the municipality there are a range of new development projects underway.
The City of Launceston approved $383m worth of development in the financial year just ended, up from $215m the year before.
In the past two years, the council has approved nearly 1500 separate planning applications.
In fact, the scale of the development boom across Launceston is unprecedented, especially when various Launceston City Deal projects are thrown into the mix.
As these various projects are built in coming years it will create an enormous amount of economic activity, new employment and new opportunities.
It will also mean Launceston is a city which continues to evolve; and one where we have to strike a balance between what we value about our past and what we aspire to in the future.
In coming years we are likely to see further changes to how we move around our city, how we utilise our CBD, how we build on our past and how we manage community assets.
This will result in new challenges and opportunities for Launceston as we seek to strike that balance and make the best decisions for this and future generations.
We will need to work together to develop a shared vision of Launceston, to realise new opportunities and to continue to build confidence in our city.
Through a shared vision, we can have a positive influence on Launceston for decades to come.
The key will be to remain open and optimistic about our future, and to be mindful of the values and attributes that have made our city what it is.
- Albert van Zetten, City of Launceston mayor