Council rejects petition to keep rock climbing gym open after failure to renew lease

CLIMBERS used to scaling the inside of a historical oil tank in Doctors Gully will have to find somewhere else to climb next month

Climbers used to scaling the inside of a historical oil tank in Doctors Gully will have to find somewhere else to climb next month.

THE Rock Centre will be shut at the end of the month.

Darwin council this week rejected a petition which urged aldermen to allow the gym and rock climbing to continue operating.

The council said the centre’s operator had failed to re-sign a lease agreement with council.

Council also alleged a number of “safety concerns” with the gym, inside a historical oil tank in Doctors Gully.

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Darwin council chief executive Scott Waters said the owners did not indicate they would be renewing their lease in time.

“We’ve been working very closely with the lessee ever since we were able to advise them that unfortunately they didn’t exercise their option to be able to continue their lease,” he said.

“Nothing was received by council during that time.”

Mr Waters said he was unable to comment on the safety concerns as they were the subject of an ongoing legal matter.

“There are a number of reasons why council has taken this course of action and we need to be able to review this facility and we need to look at its structural integrity given its age.”

But he didn’t rule out the possibility of the climbing gym returning to the tank at some stage in the future.

“We’re willing to work through a transition with the current lessee,” Mr Waters said.

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However the lessee and supporters of the centre were not happy with council’s decision, with more than a dozen at the week’s council public forum.

They claimed not to have received correspondence and indicated they may not vacate the premises, while gym owner Carolyn Reynolds yelled out “criminals” as she left council chambers, once the petition had been officially rejected.

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“We will be working with them through a legal process, we would like to see a transition agreement that’s put in place to ensure we can all work through this process together,” Mr Waters said.

“It really is a council property first and foremost, there are some areas we need to review and we are willing to work with the lessee but a decision has been made not to renew the lease.”

Ms Reynolds was approached for comment.