Townsville concert hall plan could lead to revitalisation of The Strand
A proposed concert hall could be a chance to enliven a struggling section of The Strand as part of a bid to capitalise on the idyllic location.
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A PROPOSED concert hall could be a chance to enliven a struggling section of The Strand as part of a bid to capitalise on the idyllic location.
While Townsville politicians are remaining coy about where exactly the concert hall could be located, saying it will be up to the independent consultant who completes the business case, the land currently occupied by Enterprise House and the Townsville Bowls Club has been suggested as the ideal spot.
This comes as the federal government has committed $2m in funding for a business case on the new concert hall, allocated through the Townsville City Deal.
If the business case is complete, the remaining $98m will be released.
The funding was announced as part of a larger commitment with the left over Haughton Pipeline Funding.
Australian Festival of Chamber Music chairwoman Sandra Yates (left) said while the official decision should be left up to the experts, the Marina end of The Strand would be an ideal location.
“It’s got to be in the best location,” Ms Yates said.
“Sixty per cent of people who come to the Australian Festival of Chamber Music … travel from interstate and a lot of them, almost all of them stay along The Strand.”
She said coupled with The Hive project, which will include office, retail and service industry space, the concert hall could bring the eastern end of The Strand to life.
Ms Yates said while the concert hall was not a done deal yet, this commitment was certainly encouraging.
She said a while a preliminary business case was completed some time ago, it was done with a “very broad brush” and this additional work would help reassure people that it made economic sense.
Herbert MP Phillip Thompson said while the initial concert hall funding was for a business case, it would mainly focus on the ideal location for the project.
“I don’t think anyone would ever think that a business case for a concert hall in Townsville, that doesn’t have a concert hall, wouldn’t stack up,” Mr Thompson said.
“It will, and I am sure the arts community … will be behind this.”
Mr Thompson couldn’t say how long the business case would take, with the state government’s GST allocation concerns still to sort out in order for the federal government to be able to release the funding to Townsville City Council.
Deputy Mayor Mark Molachino encouraged the state and federal governments to sit down and discuss the GST issues because the council was “ready to rock and roll”.
Deputy Premier Steven Miles said on Monday the federal government was refusing to the be drawn into the discussion about GST.
“That means effectively, they’re saying they’ll commit $12m towards this project, but they they’ll take $9.6m of it away from Queensland, their only read commitment is the equivalent of $2.4m,” he said.
The state government initially opted to fund the Haughton Pipeline Stage 2 because the federal government would not quarantine the GST.
Mr Thompson accused the state government of treating Townsville like “second class citizens” because of this move.
“The state Labor government in the same process will accept money form the federal government on the Gold Coast for stage two of their light rail,” he said.
“The funding is exactly the same … it’s the same model, in every state and territory through this country has singed up to GST allocation.”
ARTS BOOST: $100M concert hall in the works
A $100M concert hall will become the centrepiece of a multimillion-dollar funding commitment for North Queensland.
The federal government has announced three projects to be funded with the leftover $140m from the Haughton Pipeline Stage 2 kitty.
The federal government has put $12m on the table for the Lansdown Eco-Industrial precinct, $2m for a feasibility study into recycled water for green hydrogen in Townsville, and $2m for a business case into the concert hall.
This leaves $124m remaining in the leftover city deal funding – $100m of which the federal government intends to invest in the concert hall, subject to the outcomes of the business case.
Federal Cities Minister Paul Fletcher said these projects would add to the $55m announced in July for Reef HQ and the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
“These additional projects will build on some of our key achievements to date under the Townsville City Deal to further enhance liveability and support the growth of vital local industries – while generating more jobs and more economic stimulus,” Mr Fletcher said.
However, the Townsville Bulletin understands the state government has not signed off on the GST aspect of negotiations.
The state government initially pulled out of the Haughton Pipeline Stage 2 funding arrangement, saying it would need to effectively pay back a large portion of the funding.
However, the federal government has refused to budge on quarantining the funding from GST.
Herbert MP Phillip Thompson said it was great the council and state had accepted the projects he put forward in July.
“These projects were supported by the community and it is for the community, for our economy to grow and create jobs,” Mr Thompson said.
However, one project, funding for the Aquaculture Accelerator at James Cook University, is still being negotiated.
Mr Thompson said the business case for the concert hall would pull together all the work previously done on a concert hall.
“An independent person will work with the community and stakeholders on location and design,” he said.
“We will then fully fund the concert hall.”
He added the $2m for a feasibility study into the recycled water for green hydrogen would build on the work already done in the industry in the region.
Money woes won’t hold back Lansdown
THE Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct will be good to go when the first proponent is ready to break ground, whether the federal government stump up all the cash needed or not.
Mayor Jenny Hill has revealed that if council is forced to fund the remaining money needed to get the land ready for proponents, it will.
This comes as Queensland Pacific Metal’s (QPM) Townsville Energy Chemicals Hub (TECH) was declared a prescribed project, which will give additional support to the project and help streamline the approvals process.
Cr Hill said Townsville City Council was in the planning stages for a project funded as part of the October 2020 state election campaign.
“We will be working in parallel with companies like QPM to ensure that we bring infrastructure on as they need it,” Cr Hill said.
The state government committed $12m to upgrade road and rail infrastructure at the site.
It included $6.8m for the passing loop and a relocated level cross, $2m for the intersection upgrades and $3.2m for corridor realignment and road upgrades through to the site
“At the moment, we are processing full speed ahead, if we have to fund the infrastructure because there’s a shortfall form the federal government, I think that is what we will have to do,” Cr Hill said.
She said if full funding was not achieved, the council may need to go back to the proponents and impose a levy.
Cr Hill said a development like Lansdown could help the federal government achieve its greenhouse gas targets
“A place like Lansdown, if we fully develop that, I believe we can really achieve what the federal government is looking for, we can turn the head of manufacturing down south which is using coal-fired power stations and bring it North using renewables to create new jobs for our community,” Cr Hill said.
The Mayor said the TECH wouldn’t have leftovers from the production.
“We believe that we can work with the company to reuse just about everything they produce,” Cr Hill said.
“Now if we can do that, it really does close the circle for us.
“They (the federal government) need to get into the game if they really want to be a part of changing what happens in terms of manufacturing to meet their Co2 emissions.”
“They should be looking north, and it doesn’t have to be Townsville, it can be Hughenden, it could be Charters Towers, there is a great opportunity for us here in Queensland, particularly in North Queensland to tip manufacturing back into Northern Australia.”
Herbert MP Phillip Thompson previously announced the federal government wanted to match the state governments $12m for the precinct, however negotiations are continuing.
Division 10 councillor Fran O’Callaghan, who has previously protested against the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct, said she would not support the council stumping up the cash for the project.
“I will be rallying against any such proposal for the ratepayer to fund private business in this regard,” Cr O’Callaghan said.
The councillor said the council needed to sort out its “own house” before funding major projects.
“That is the priority, not some other business out in the middle of nowhere which hasn’t got water.
“Council is not a developer, and nor should it be.”
The Haughton Pipeline Stage 2, which the council is currently planning, will bring water to the site.
Originally published as Townsville concert hall plan could lead to revitalisation of The Strand
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