Burnie City Councillor Ken Dorsey says the Burnie courthouse needs to be saved from demolition

People could be shown to a much more lavish room than the cells underneath a Tasmanian courthouse if a bid to save it from demolitions results in it becoming an unusual hotel.

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A BURNIE CBD building earmarked for demolition as part of a planned move of court services out of town could become a hotel or crime and law museum, a councillor says.

At its next meeting, councillor Ken Dorsey will ask the council to approach the state government to gift the city the courts complex.

The government announced earlier this month that rather than upgrading the court complex as originally promised, the Magistrate’s and Supreme Courts would be moved to the current University of Tasmania site in Mooreville Rd.

Justice Minister Elise Archer said the court facilities in Alexander St were outdated.

“In particular, it has become difficult with physical distancing requirements to ensure the safety of court staff and its users during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Ms Archer said.

Tasmania, Burnie

“A thorough assessment of the current building has made it clear that the best and most efficient option is the development of court facilities in a new location.”

The option was put firmly on the table by UTAS’ pending relocation of its Burnie campus from Mooreville Rd to a new campus under construction at West Park on the city’s foreshore.

Cr Dorsey says the government should now gift the building to the people of Burnie and provide the funds needed to repurpose it for community benefit.

“In addition, we respectfully request that the Supreme Court, Judges Chambers and

cells be left as is for future generations to see,” Cr Dorsey said.

Since the government announced its change of court plans, there has been a suggestion that the building be razed and the space left made into a public park.

“The idea hat anyone with any sense of value would want to destroy a building that has a

replacement value of $24m defies basic logic,” Cr Dorsey said.

“The idea of destroying Burnie’s, and the region’s, legal and formative history should not be a consideration.”

The building was constructed in 1968 and hailed at the time as a “new step towards Burnie’s city status.”