Glenorchy Mayor Kristie Johnston says website circulating fake info on Wilkinsons Point sale is causing community angst
GLENORCHY City Council is poised to sell Wilkinsons Point with council officers’ recommending disposing the valuable waterfront land.
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GLENORCHY City Council is poised to sell Wilkinsons Point with council officers’ recommending disposing the valuable waterfront land.
But, the council is being urged to not consider any proposal to purchase or lease the land, which does not allow public access to the Elwick Bay foreshore.
If aldermen vote to sell the 9ha site at Monday’s meeting, the council is advised to consult with the community over any specific proposal it decides to pursue.
It is hoped a package deal containing both Wilkinsons Point and the Derwent Entertainment Centre will give the council the best chance at attracting a suitable major project.
The council estimates it could take more than a year for any sale to be completed.
It says it’s too early put a figure on a sale price.
The council received more than 30 submissions during the public consultation phase with the majority against selling Wilkinsons Point.
Many of the objections relate to fears the Glenorchy Art and Sculpture Park site could be lost.
A council report notes there has been a large amount of misinformation circulated in the community via flyers and a newly created website suggesting GASP will be lost if Wilkinsons Point is sold.
Glenorchy Mayor Kristie Johnston says the council has been clear on numerous occasions that the public foreshore and Lloyd Rd access would remain open to the community.
“The boardwalk and the pavilion is infrastructure owned and maintained by council and we will continue to do that,” she said.
“It’s disingenuous to suggest that GASP is under any threat whatsoever.”
Council officers’ recommendation is that it be made clear from the outset that any decision to dispose of Wilkinsons Point is made on the express understanding that the council “will not consider any proposal to purchase the land that does not include full and complete access to the foreshore”.
The 9ha parcel of land is comparable in size to Hobart’s Macquarie Point and when combined with the DEC, the 16ha piece of land could prove irresistible to any future developer.
The decision to sell the DEC last year was met with a mixed reaction from the Glenorchy community.
The DEC sale process has been put on hold while the council weighs up the future of Wilkinsons Point.
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