Not quite out with the old: How the council's draft annual plan stacks up

The Annual Plan 2024-25 lays out in broad terms what projects and initiatives the City of Launceston council expects to complete between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025.

The Annual Plan 2023-24 listed 41 projects - 39 of which were in varying states of completion as of December 31, 2023.

Several of these have been bundled into the draft plan for 2024-25, which lists 49 projects.

Some the projects carried over are largely unchanged from the earlier document, however others have been updated to reflect progress throughout the year.

These include the city's work on homelessness, where previously the council planned to "develop and implement the Homelessness Action Plan".

In 2024-25, however, the council plans for "continued implementation of" the Homelessness Statement of Commitment adopted early 2024.

Others were previously listed on the annual plan as part of other items but have since been sectioned off into their own items, like the Aboriginal Partnership Plan.

Newly listed projects in the annual plan include advocacy strategies for seeking state and federal funding and changing public transport delivery to allow easier access for residents.

The city's entrances are slated for a makeover with the help of the state government, and the council will also develop new policies including a community health and wellbeing strategy, and child and youth safety policies.

The future of council-owned land at Russells Plains Road will be decided, as the council will reconsider whether the land is needed for landfill, and then develop a future strategy for its use.

Other land use strategies are set to be developed, as the council looks to release more residential land and prevent looming shortages, and develop a long-term strategy for managing local cemeteries.

Flood resilience also features in the draft annual plan, with the council planning to install river level and rainfall sensors and develop a flood recovery framework.

Wage negotiations and a council-wide AI usage policy are also on the cards, however these are internal projects rather than public-facing.

Work on things like a clean air strategy, the City Heart Project, a residential growth strategy for St Leonards and a revitalisation of the city's night time economy is due to continue, having featured in the 2023-24 plan.

The draft Annual Plan 2024-25 and budget papers are expected to be released for wider public consultation after the council meeting on April 4.