Vow to fight council switch
CLARENCE mayor Doug Chipman says his council will fight any move to transfer Cambridge and Richmond into a proposed southeastern council.
Recent discussions have suggested various boundary adjustments and the possibility that Clarence could lose the towns of Cambridge, Richmond and Runnymede.
But Ald Chipman says his council will put up a fight if there is any recommendation for his council to lose Cambridge — and the area around the Hobart International Airport — and Richmond from its municipal area.
As debate continues about whether Glamorgan Spring Bay should look at a possible merger with Sorell and Tasman, Sorell mayor Kerry Vincent said there could be even more changes to the makeup of the region if the board decided it would benefit the area.
Break O’Day Council, to Glamorgan’s north, has commissioned a report by KPMG into a proposed boundary adjustment that would give it Bicheno, Coles Bay and Freycinet while Sorell — should it merge with Glamorgan Spring Bay — would receive Orford, Triabunna and Swansea in the carve-up.
But Cr Vincent said there was a chance there could be more boundary adjustments, but stressed this wasn’t being pushed by his council.
“At a public meeting at Coles Bay the other night the residents were talking about the Break O’Day proposed boundary adjustment and I just said if the local government board did bring Glamorgan Spring Bay into it they could look at other areas,” he said.
“They could look at Runnymede, which kind of sticks out from the Southern Midlands, or Cambridge and Richmond, but this is all purely speculative from our side.”
Ald Chipman said any move to take Cambridge and Richmond away from Clarence would be opposed.
“We do not want to lose Cambridge and Richmond, that we think are being more than adequately serviced and looked after by our council,” he said.
“We feel very strongly against any proposal.”
At the next council meeting on January 30, the Glamorgan Spring Bay councillors will vote on whether to continue amalgamation talks.