Glenorchy City Council held its first Ordinary Council Meeting for 2025 on Tuesday 28 January. 8 Elected Members were present. Mayor Hickey was absent and the meeting was chaired by Acting Mayor Yaxley.
Highlights from the meeting include:
Announcements by the Chair
The Acting Mayor provided several updates on important issues to the Council and community, including:
Following advice that CEO Tony McMullen will not be seeking reappointment at the conclusion of his contract at the end of June, Council discussed the recruitment of a new Chief Executive Officer and a supporting communication plan in the closed section of the meeting.
Council is committed to ensuring that it continues to deliver high quality service for the community so will be looking to commence a robust recruitment process as soon as possible so that this vital role is filled by 30 June.
Glenorchy Planning Authority (GPA)
Earlier in the day, the GPA approved two projects of significance to Glenorchy, including the redevelopment of Hobart Showgrounds and a planning scheme amendment to allow a tourist operation at Claremont.
The redevelopment of the Showgrounds will involve constructing nine buildings for various community, commercial, and accommodation uses, along with a sports oval, connecting roadways, and essential infrastructure.
The planning amendment for a tourist operation aims to enable the future use and development of an area of the Cadbury factory site as the ‘Cadbury Visitor Experience’ Tourist operation leveraging the historic factory’s unique social, industrial, and environmental heritage.
The Glenorchy War Memorial Pool
Repair and reopen
Tenders for the repair of the pool are on track to be released early to mid-February. Council is committed to letting the community know when the tenders have gone out up to date with the process. Council remains confident that the pool will be reopened for summer 2025/26.
Redevelopment of the pool
Council has started lobbying State and Federal Governments for the $83.8 million needed to redevelop the pool. Council has made a submission to the State Government’s budget process outlining funding for the pool as a regional priority. The Mayor is seeking meetings with all relevant State Government Ministers and the Premier to lobby for the pool funding.
The upcoming Federal election provides a great opportunity for Council to lobby for pool funding. The pool business case has been shared with Senator Carol Brown, Senator Jonno Duniam and Independent Member for Clark Andrew Wilkie, along with other candidates for Clark. The Mayor will continue to lobby each of the Federal politicians and candidates leading up to the election.
Priority Projects Prospectus
Following endorsement of the 2025/26 Priority Project Prospectus at the 16 December meeting, this document has now been finalised and is available on Council’s website.
The 2025/26 priority projects include:
- $83.8 million for the redevelopment of the pool
- $9 million for Tolosa Park Stage B Redevelopment
- $17.5 million for the development of a shared pathway along Humphrey’s Rivulet
- $500 000 for the establishment of a youth hub for Glenorchy.
Golden Years Club
Following the closure of the Golden Years Club in December, formal expressions of interest will be sought for the lease of the building. There has been a great deal of interest in the lease of this building, therefore the EOI process will ensure that we find the right fit to continue vital services for community, particularly our older community members. In the meantime, all the groups that have been hiring the club are continuing to do so.
Strategic Planning Team Award
Council’s Strategic Planning team were honoured at the Planning Institute of Australia’s (PIA) 2024 Tasmanian Awards for Planning Excellence, winning the Community Wellbeing and Diversity category for their innovative Designing for Livability project.
This initiative is central to the Principal Activity Centres and Northern Apartment Corridor Specific Area Plans, which aim to reduce barriers to inclusive housing and address Glenorchy’s diverse community needs.
The project introduced local planning controls that prioritise accessible housing for people of all abilities and life stages, promoting sustainable housing diversity and meeting demographic and infill housing goals through place-based solutions.
The Designing for Livability project will now compete at the national level in the PIA National Planning Awards, with winners to be announced in May 2025.
The team also received a commendation in the Strategic Planning Project category for their Adaptable Living in the Northern Apartments Corridor initiative, further supporting the Northern Apartment Corridor Specific Area Plan.
Glenorchy City Council Bushfire Mitigation Strategy 2020-2030
Council endorsed an updated Glenorchy City Council Bushfire Mitigation Strategy 2020-2030. The updated Strategy contains two new elements:
- Statements of progress against the objectives
- A progress schedule for the next three-year period
The two primary objectives of the strategy are:
- To minimise the impact of major bushfires on human life, communities, essential and community infrastructure, industries, the economy and the environment. Human life will be afforded priority over all other considerations, and
- To maintain or improve the resilience of natural ecosystems and their ability to deliver services such as biodiversity, water, carbon storage.
This updated strategy will be reviewed again in three years.
Business Updates
A monthly financial performance update for December was also provided which keeps Council up to date with regular high level financial information.
You can view the full agenda and minutes on Council’s website, via this link https://www.gcc.tas.gov.au/council/council-meetings/minutes-and-agendas/