PLEASE DO NOT SELL 56 FREDERICK ST. PROPERTY

 

Councillor Tim Walker calls on colleagues to rule out Frederick Street property sale

By Joe Colbrook October 17 2023 - 4:30am

A Frederick Street property - possibly the nation's oldest infant school - could go under the hammer, however one Launceston councillor is calling for that option to be taken off the table.

City of Launceston councillors will vote on a motion tabled by councillor Tim Walker that calls for the current expressions of interest process relating to 56 Frederick Street be stopped, altered, and restarted.

Launceston councillor Tim Walker says selling 56 Frederick Street should not be on the table. Picture by Paul Scambler

The alterations include explicitly ruling out the sale of the property, prioritising community use, and extending the submission deadline to 60 days.

Cr Walker said he "didn't want there to be a chance" that the council would sell the building after receiving an offer "too good to refuse".

Instead, his preference was to keep the building as a community hub as it was well-positioned in the CBD, and potential uses included an arts centre or history precinct.

"This is exactly the sort of thing that can help to build community," Cr Walker said.

"That's really important at the moment.

"We can't hope to address things like antisocial behaviour, if we're not trying to do something different, if we're not trying to provide ways to create connections and build community trust and values. It's a slow road."

He said it was particularly important to retain public spaces, as several - mostly owned other levels of government - had been turned over to private hands over the years.

Councillor Tim Walker. Picture by Rod Thompson

Cr Walker said the sale of the property could be "well-intentioned through economic rationalism", and the council had to consider where its priorities lay when it came to spending the millions it brought in with rates.

"I personally believe that ratepayers want us to do the right thing by the community with that money," he said.

"It would be different if we were a business - and I think this is at the heart of the problem - that some people think of council as a business and think of the councillors as board members.

"That's not what we are. We are obviously a level of government but we are there to create the greatest good from the money that we have."

In a response to the motion, council chief executive officer Michael Stretton said the current expression of interest process was the first stage of several, and was intentionally broad.

"The expression of interest process ... is intentionally broad in scope in order to identify the full range of interest and proposals for the future use of the building," Mr Stretton said.

"Importantly the EOI process has not ruled any options in or out at this stage, which was the direction provided by the council.

"The EOI process also enables the councillors to consider all submissions and make a decision not to sell the building if that is its preference."

Councillors will vote on the motion at their October 19 meeting.