Calls for community consultation over ambulance super-station earmarked for Glenorchy

An ambulance superstation earmarked for Glenorchy would need community consultation and further investigation before the land is handed over to the state government local council says. LATEST >>

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The Glenorchy council said a site at Goodwood earmarked for an ambulance super-station would need community consultation and further investigation before the land is handed over to the state government.

It’s proposed the Ambulance Station is built on the Western side of Goodwood Park, which is currently occupied by the Model Makers and Collectors Club.

The council on Monday night voted unanimously to commence investigations into the potential disposal of Goodwood Park.

“What we’re voting for here is an investigation into the potential sale of this land, it’s a very open and transparent process,” Alderman Simon Fraser said.

“A decision will be made based on that consultation.”

The council said investigations will also be needed into whether the site was a former tip.

“I believe that was an old tip area, is that something that the council would be aware of?” Alderman Peter Bull said.

Ambulance Tasmania vehicle.

“That if they’re building an ambulance place there that it’s all satisfactory?”

City services and infrastructure director Emilio Reale said it was not yet known.

“It’s hard to say whether it was an old tip and if it was, hard to say what was actually in it, to know whether it was hard waste or if any contamination exists,“ Mr Reale said.

“Once Tas Ambulance decide they want to progress, there will be further geotechnical investigations done.

“They’ll do the necessary environmental reports to find out what’s below the site.”

Mayor Bec Thomas said it was not yet decided if the site will be sold, leased, exchanged or gifted to the State Government.

‘I cry myself to sleep’: Residents battle council over school buses

A HUON Valley couple say their lives are being ruined in a years-long dispute with the local council over school buses parked on their Dover property.

Neville and Lisa Boulton have spoken emotionally about the crippling toll the chain of events have had on them, saying they are living in limbo as they desperately search for a solution.

They own a school bus service company that transports students of Huonville High School, Franklin Primary School and Huonville Primary School.

For 26 years, buses have come and gone from the property on school days, and the Boultons purchased the Cemetery Rd property and business together in 2002.

But after a complaint was made in early 2018 about two buses being parked at the address, Huon Valley Council stepped in, claiming the storage of the buses was against the local planning scheme.

In a letter to the Boultons, the council said under the scheme, having the buses parked on the property was prohibited because the land was zoned low density residential.

More than three years later, and after countless phone calls, emails and almost $20,000 forked out by the couple in legal fees, the matter still stands unresolved.

For the Boultons, it means they cannot proceed with their plan to sell their house and business together, which they had put on the market in 2017.

Dover property owner Neville Boulton and his wife Lisa have had a years-long dispute with Huon Valley Council over parking their school buses on their property. Picture: Richard Jupe

“I listen to Lisa cry herself to sleep at night. I cry myself to sleep. I don’t want to wake up, sometimes,’’ Mr Boulton said.

While they run the business, they do not drive, and the drivers do not live at the address.

“It’s not about the buses being parked there. It’s about us,’’ Mr Boulton said.

“These buses they say are against the planning scheme, well how come they are still doing exactly the same thing they have done for the last 20 years.”

Mrs Boulton said the couple was “physically and mentally destroyed” from the dispute.

“It’s a community-based government-funded service,’’ she said.

“It’s a f***ing school bus service. It’s not a f***ing whore house.”

The Boultons had plans to relocate to Tasmania’s north, purchase a property there and retire after selling their Dover property and school bus business.

“This was our superannuation,’’ Mr Boulton said.

“We wanted someone else to have the opportunity to run a real good business, with magic kids in a beautiful spot, the same way as we bought the place.”

Mr Boulton claimed the couple had been unfairly treated and the council had not made meaningful attempts to solve the issue.

Dover property owner Neville Boulton and his wife Lisa have had a years-long dispute with Huon Valley Council over parking their school buses on their property. Picture: Richard Jupe

“We should never have been handled the way we are,’’ he said.

“No one has ever come to us ... somebody has got to pay for what they’ve done to us.

“There’s no justification to it. There’s no gain to it. It’s personal.”

In a statement in response to a number of questions from the Mercury, a Huon Valley Council spokeswoman said council would not provide commentary on individual circumstances.

“The Huon Valley Council has an obligation to meet the regulatory requirements of the Tasmanian planning systems with any develop and use within the municipality,’’ she said.

“Council is unable to provide commentary on individual circumstances however it is suffice to say, that conflict exists between use of the property for residential and school bus operations and the requirements of the Huon Valley Interim Planning Scheme.”

Mr Boulton said the buses were only parked and washed on the property, with no refuelling or servicing taking place on the property.

The couple has also written to the state government about the issue.

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