Buy it for the people of Clarence

As questions continue over the Kangaroo Bay hospitality school, Clarence council should grab the opportunity to buy back the site, writes Tony Mulder

T HE failure of the Universityof Tasmania to follow through on its commitment to the C ham broad Hotel development at Kangaroo Bay provides an opportunity to buy back the public land and create the social and cultural space that is so lacking in Clarence. Government-orchestrated deals to have first TAFE and then UTAS develop hospitality schools in conjunction with a five-star hotel on prime public land have again failed, resulting in a request for a two-year extension to “enable the parties to better assess the commercial viability of the project”. In June last year, in a Neville Chamberlain-e sque peace-in-our-time announcement, Clarence Mayor Doug Chipman returned from China citing the intention of C ham broad to sign a memorandum of understanding( MO U) with UTAS to lease a high-end hospitality school. This promise to consider committing became the basis for the council granting its first extension of the development application. Now more than a year later, U TA Sis unable to commit to the project and a further extension for commencing construction has been requested. Well before COVID-19 hit in February, significant questions were being asked about the financial viability of UTAS’ s aggressive expansion into the Hobart property market. In the eight months between the Mayor’ s trip and the onset of COVID-19, UTAS has failed to commit to the project and now hid es behind COVID-19 as the reason. In the likely event that U TA S will not commit to the project for another 10 years, C ham broad has offered its assistance in finding an alternate education provider. With valid concerns over Chinese Communist Party in filtration of Australian universities, it is not in our interests to have a campus of the University of Shan dong at Kangaroo Bay. The Chambroad conglomerate is based in the province of Shan dong. The former premier signed an MO U with C ham broad which is the basis of the Kangaroo Bayland purchase. This MO U resulted from the Liberal Party 2014 election promise of a Kangaroo Bay break water that would be built by Council from the proceeds of the sale of Crown Land which the state government gifted to the Clarence City Council. The project was grand and visionary and the sale of public land for private development is fairly rare. Due to these factors, the council included a clause to buy back the land in the absence of substantial commencement. If this second extension is not granted, Council can buy back the land and dedicate it to a development that suits a public purpose. Council’ s ability to buy back the land will be extinguished on substantial commencement. At the last council meeting, the general manager confirmed that C ham broad could commence construction, extinguish the buy-backclause and then abandon the project. They would then have a clear title to the land and freedom to do as they wish. The people could then be left with an abandoned building site with C ham broad on-selling the land at a significant profit or building another block of flats similar to the 85, four-storey apartments proposed for the adjacent land. This is also council-owned land that is in the process of being sold to Chambroad. All levels of government have strongly denied any financial support for this project. However, prime waterfront land in the heart of Kangaroo Bay was sold to Chamb road for $2.5m while the nearby Percy St cricket shed is reportedly worth about $3.5 m. This is a sweetener of $1.5 to $2m from the capital assets of the ratepayers of Clarence. That sounds pretty sweet to me. As Clarence City Council commences its strategic plans and City Heart proposal, we are being presented with a unique opportunity to re imagine this prime piece of real estate in the social heart of the city. Development

THE PROJECT WAS GRAND AND VISIONARY AND THE SALE OF PUBLIC LAND FOR PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT IS FAIRLY RARE. DUE TO THESE FACTORS, THE COUNCIL INCLUDED A CLAUSE TO BUY BACK THE LAND IN THE ABSENCE OF SUBSTANTIAL COMMENCEMENT

should be appropriate to the area. Kangaroo Bay is the historic, cultural and social heartofClarence. It should not aspire to be another Gold Coast or Darling Harbour and a more realistic and viable vision is the Cor so at Manly with moderate scale buildings and a vibrant pedestrian based social scene that attracts local sand ferry visitors. Buyitback. Tony Mulder is a councillor with Clarence City Council.