Clarence council settles on elector poll questions about High Performance Centre

REVEALED: Here are the dates and questions Clarence ratepayers will be asked in a vote about the $70m AFL High Performance Centre.

Rosny Parklands site as Tasmanian AFL teams' home. Indicative renders of the site. Picture: Tasmanian Government

The future of the Tasmanian AFL team’s $75m training base and administration headquarters at Rosny will be known on August 9 when votes are counted from the Clarence City Council’s Elector Poll to decide whether to proceed with the state-of-the-art facility or hand it to Kingston.

Despite Council voting in favour of the High Performance Centre be homed at its Rosny precinct and the state government making it official, a decision now supported by Labor, a group of objectors has forced a vote in an attempt to derail it.

Brendan Blomeley mayor Clarence City Council, Dean Winter Labor leader, Luke Edmunds Labor member for Pembroke at the proposed site of the AFL High Performance Centre at the old Rosny Golf Course site. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

The Elector Poll, which will cost $200,000 and increase all Clarence municipality rates by 0.3 per cent, will be sent out to Clarence residents from July 10.

They have until 2pm on August 8 to return them, and the result will be made public the next day.

AFL High Performance Centre, Minister Nic Street, Tasmania Football Club board member Roger Curtis, footballer Andrew Phillips and City of Clarence Mayor Brendan Blomeley at Rosny. Picture: Chris Kidd

Clarence Mayor Brandan Blomeley said the council had written its 200 word script detailing why it wants the High Performance Centre at Rosny.

Save Rosny’s Parks group has until Monday to submit its 200-words describing why it opposes the facility.

The current High Performance Centre model is for an oval and administration headquarters on Charles Hand Park and second oval across the road at the now defunct Rosny Golf Course.

The back-up option is all being built on part of the vacant 14.5 hectare former golf course now Rosny Parklands.

If the development is voted down, Kingborough Council is happy to install the facility at its Twin Ovals precinct.

Kingborough Mayor Paula Wriedt with an aerial view of an expanded Twi Ovals precinct to accommodate an AFL High Performance Centre. Picture James Bresnehan.

Economic reports on the HPC show a financial boost through the construction phase is almost $20m, while local businesses will benefit by an average $55m per annum in additional income to their area, and the overall financial impact to its regional is estimated at $23.7m.

Clarence residents will be asked to either support or reject the centre, which is one of the conditions for Tasmania to be granted its own AFL and AFLW teams.

The Elector Poll questions are:

1 – Do you want it all in the former Rosny Golf Course site: YES or NO

2 – Do you want it split between Rosny Golf Course and Charles Hand Park: YES or NO

Mr Blomeley urged Clarence residents to make themselves heard.

“It is important that people exercise their democratic duty and responsibility and make their vote count,” he said.

“By Friday the ninth [of August] we will have a result.

“From my perspective, overwhelmingly Clarence residents will back this in.

“It will deliver social and economic benefits like we’ve never seen before in this city.”