Tag Archives: News

How much of Glenorchy’s plastic is recycled? (part 3)

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I asked at the January 25 open council meeting if Council would provide me with information about the nature of the statistical report they receive now and then from Cleanaway.

Here is the complete response.

“you asked, which was “what is the nature of the report Council receives from the recycling facility Cleanaway” we committed to seek permission to provide you with the headings of the report, so you have an insight into the nature of the report.  Cleanaway agreed to providing this information to you.

This report has commercial in confidence information which we do not have permission to publicly release.  Council sought permission to provide the topics that are reported on, so you have an insight to the nature of the report.

The report content is:

Council Monthly Tonnes In
Commercial Tonnes In
Total Tonnes In
Council Monthly Tonnes In – Percentages
Commercial Monthly Tonnes In – Percentages
Glass Out
Waste Out
Cardboard In/Out
Commodities Out
Standard Reporting
Incident Report”

Email received 6 Feb 2025 3:16pm

The brevity of this response begs more questions than it answers. In the faint hope of further clarification I asked these questions as “questions on notice” in February 2025 and received answers (shown in red) in the agenda of the March 2025 Open Council.

  • When the word “in” appears, where is the measured material going from and where is it going to?
    Answer: The material comes from the 12 southern Tasmanian Councils. Council is not informed of where it is going to.
  • When the word “out” appears, where is the measured material going from and where is it going to?
    Answer: The material is going from the Material Recovery Facility in Derwent Park Road. Council is not informed of where it is going to.
  • What is the definition of “commodities” in the context of the report?
    Answer: Commodities is made up of cardboard, paper, metals and plastics.
  • Does Council have any data relating specifically to reuse of plastics recovered by Cleanaway at its MRF? If so, can you describe it’s nature?
    Answer: Council does not have this data.
  • Does Council have any data relating to reuse of any materials whatsoever recovered by Cleanaway at its MRF? If so, can you describe it’s nature?
    Answer: Council does not have this data.

How the Vinnies Project in Mill Lane slipped under the radar

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On 23 September 2024 St Vincent de Paul Society Tasmania published a media release proudly announcing that construction is set to begin on its new, state-of-the-art southern base at Mill Lane in Glenorchy. Their new base will consolidate many existing functions into a single location, allowing greater efficiency in service delivery.

I have no quarrel with the sensible and worthwhile project. In fact, I wanted to know more about it. It was harder than I expected.

I first searched the agendas of all Planning Authority meetings that I could find online. Nothing there.

Some Council staff have delegations allowing them to deal with development applications in certain circumstances. Council publishes quarterly reports in its website that list approvals made under delegation. I searched them all. The closest match I could find was “PLN-23-264” described as “Alteration to Community Building” at “8 Mill Lane Glenorchy”, approved on 26 March 2024. The description was surprisingly uninformative for what has turned out to be a major construction project, not simply what most would regard as a renovation.

Now I had a Development Application and an application number “PLN-23-264”.

I searched the Mercury and found that the DA had been advertised on 6 March 2024. The description there – “Demolition, Addition and Alteration works to the existing building” – was different but no more informative, and certainly text which would not draw attention.

But wait, there’s more.

I googled the DA number in the entire Council website. It surfaced in the agenda of the 15 April 2024 Glenorchy Planning Authority Meeting in an item entitled “Planning Scheme Amendment Request – Mill Lane Rezoning” with number “PLAM-23/04”.

The effect of the planning scheme amendment was to label some land as the “Mill Lane Precinct”, rezone the land in it, and create a Mill Lane Specific Area Plan tweaking planning scheme controls over development on that land.

Buried in the 15 page report accompanying that item was this paragraph:

“A planning application PLN-23-264 was approved recently for sites at 8 and 12 Mill Lane, Glenorchy for a mixed-use development. The approval is related to existing uses and development to allow additions and alterations to the existing buildings to allow St Vincent De Paul Society (Vinnies) distribution centre with associated storage space (Storage use class), reconfiguration of existing Tas Textiles light manufacturing facility for textile knitting, sewing, and embroidery (Manufacturing and Processing use class), St Vincent Industries for cutting and production of rags (Manufacturing and Processing use class), subservient retail outlet shops for Vinnies and TasTextiles that would be open to the public, and a small scale catering/takeaway service for Loui’s Van Kitchen (Food Services use class). The planning permit has not yet been acted upon. The proposed planning scheme amendment will support the existing approved uses and development under PLN-23-264.”

Read the last sentence. The true purpose of the planning scheme amendment started to emerge.

More searching revealed a reference to Mill Lane in the Greater Glenorchy Plan (GGP) adopted by Council back in February 2021. The Council car park at 9–11 Mill Lane was said to be suited to infill residential development, but not number 8 over the road. So the planning scheme amendment had nothing to do with the GGP.

That planning authority meeting approved the next step in the process which was public consultation of the proposal. The documents provided to the public are still available on the council website.

Public consultation included a “Community Information Sesson” at a King George V meeting room on 3 October 2023 ostensibly to get feedback from the public on the proposal. Most attendees had difficulty discerning the actual purpose of the proposal. They regarded the Mill Lane situation as stable – long-term occupants with no plans for significant change. Major change seemed unlikely. The proposal seemed of little value. Much was made of its “strategic” nature. Much was made of the potential for apartment living. But the significance of Vinnies in the proposal was not mentioned.

Throughout the entire process, Council appeared reluctant to reveal to the public the underlying purpose of the proposal which was clearly not strategic.

All the information about the development application and related planning scheme amendment give a strong impression of an effort to expedite a Vinnies proposal with no fuss and minimal visibility.

The lack of transparency in this situation worries me. While the objectives of Vinnies are laudable and would be supported by most of the public, a lack of transparency in other circumstances might not be so benign. And while Council may not have deliberately obscured the underlying purpose of the planning scheme amendment, perception matters.

Make the KGV car park safe for walkers

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Most of the conversation to date about the proposed replacement for the Glenorchy War Memorial Pool has focused on the internal design of the facility – the various architectural components – with little concerning its surroundings.

The observant reader will have noticed that the Intercity Cycleway comes within a few metres of the entrance of the proposed replacement for the current Glenorchy War Memorial Pool.

A major active transport route coming within a stone’s throw of a proposed major recreation centre with no safe connection defies logic.

There is currently no way to walk from the cycleway to either the entrance of the Tasmanian Transport Museum or the entrance of the Glenorchy Pool without crossing a roadway and potentially dealing with traffic. Some painted walkways across the nearby car park seem to exist only to help those who park there and then cross the railway lines to go to shop or work in the Glenorchy CBD. The car park is unfriendly to pedestrians. Council’s own Glenorchy Parking Strategy 2017-2027 makes it very clear that “Well-designed parking improves … pedestrian safety”. Council must make it safe.

Many council policies mention Council’s enthusiasm for active transport – walking, riding, scooting, running, etc. One of the more recent is the Active Glenorchy 2040 Framework for Sport and Recreation Infrastructure published in 2021.

The new facility provides an ideal opportunity to take advantage of the cycleway to promote active transport; in fact, to make the cycleway the preferred method for people to get to the pool.

To encourage this approach, patrons need a secure facility where they can lock up their bikes etc. CCTV would reassure those worried about theft.

Even if patrons don’t use the cycleway to go all the way from home to pool, some might be willing and able to park nearby and walk the last few hundred metres. Not so much a park and ride, more a park and walk. To allow this in all weathers, shelter needs to be provided along the cycleway – shelter against the heat and the cold. There is virtually none now.

There is or was apparently a Master Plan for a King George V Sports and Community Precinct Master Plan. It focussed entirely on places for people to go, the facilities, but nothing about how they can safely move around.

The close proximity of the cycleway to the Transport Museum and proposed pool gives council an opportunity to add a vital link to the pedestrian network in the city. Council need not wait for the construction of the new pool. It must plan the link immediately.