Council adopts visionary plan for Glenorchy CBD
Glenorchy City Council has adopted an exciting new vision for the Glenorchy CBD with the unanimous adoption of Glenorchy CityScape Civic Heart Masterplan at its April meeting.
Released for public consultation in March, the vision outlined masterplan would transform the central precinct into a modern, efficient and accessible hub for all community services.
The masterplan, which applies to the area in and around the Council forecourt, library, bus mall and Main Road, envisages a central plaza for markets, events and festivals, a childcare centre and multigenerational play space are also planned, as well as a cultural garden and a plaza for informal recreation.
Implementation of the vision in the masterplan will take place over the next 10 to 15 years, with funding to be sought from state and federal governments and private investment.
The CityScape Civic Hear Masterplan can be viewed at https://letstalk.gcc.tas.gov.au/cityscape-masterplan
Council to review core services
Council will embark on a process of reviewing its service offerings to better focus services on community priorities and improve Council’s financial sustainability.
A report from Council’s General Manager identified a need to put Council on a firmer financial footing following a series of external and internal shocks that have impacted on Council’s finances over the past decade, including the significant management restructure in 2015 and the associated redundancy costs, the loss of water and sewerage revenue in 2006, the 2016 Board of Inquiry costs and the community assistance provided during the COVID-19 pandemic including foregone revenue and increased expenditure.
The report noted that Council’s Aldermen had asked for an investigation of the benefits of an increased focus on “core” services and to better understand the cost of “non-core” service delivery.
Council instructed its General Manager to prepare a project business case for the review of Council services in time for its next meeting in May 2022.
Increased recognition for assistance dogs in new dog management policy
Following an extensive period of community engagement, Glenorchy City Council has formally adopted its updated Dog Management Policy 2022.
The review of the policy has resulted in changes to the old policy, which was last reviewed in 2018, including:
- The declaration of a number of new dog exercise areas in the City
- Increasing registration fees for declared dangerous dogs, and
- Allowing ‘assistance dogs’ which provide support to vulnerable people or people with a disability into prohibited and restricted areas that could previously only be accessed by guide dogs and hearing dogs.
Allowing assistance dogs to access prohibited and restricted areas goes beyond what is contemplated in the legislation and is an important step in recognising the vital support assistance dogs provide to people with disabilities in our community.
It follows Council’s decision in early 2021 to also provide an exemption from dog registration fees for assistance dogs, which is also not provided for in the Dog Management Act.
The new Dog Management Policy 2022 will be available through Council’s website and Customer Service Centre from 27 April 2022.