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St Marys Pass Closure

So that our community can stay up to date on the works on St Marys Pass we have set up this webpage.

St Marys Pass is managed by the Department of State Growth.

You can keep up to date on their works on St Marys Pass HERE.

What has Council been doing?

Break O’Day Council has been advocating for the community, asking the State Government to consider alternate routes to the East Coast that do not bypass our townships.

We have also asked the Government to consider emergency payments for the St Marys Community, similar to those offered when Paradise Gorge closed.

We are also keeping a close eye on the impact the closure is having on our communities. We attended the St Marys Community Meeting on Friday 25 November at teh Town Hall. We listened to the communities concerns and took extensive notes which we will pass on to both the State and Federal Governments.

So we can better understand the impact the closure is having no St Marys’s businesses, we have developed a survey. If you are a business in St Marys you can take the survey HERE.

Below are some of Council’s communications on the Pass closure.

Premier Rockliff – St Marys Pass closure – seeking funding

Alt. Route. Media Release

Alternate Routes

Elephant Pass

The Elephant Pass is managed by the State Government.

It is open as an alternate route to the East Coast but is down to one lane in places.

We urge all drivers to use caution and obey any signage in place.

 

Upper Scamander and Semmens Roads

Since the closure of St Marys Pass, there has been a significant increase in traffic using these roads as a by pass.

Normally Upper Scamander Road experiences around 100 traffic movements a day – this has increase to 670.

Due to this increase in traffic we have lowered the speed limit to 60km and are conducting daily inspections of the road to ensure it is suitably maintained. A similar limit will also be applied to German Town Road and Semmens Road in the coming days.

We urge all drivers to obey the speed limit and drive to the conditions.

UPDATE: 15 December

The Local Government Board has now released its Options Papers (see below) and  has opened up community consultation.

There are several ways you can get involved:

Go online to the interactive version of the Options Paper at www.engage.futurelocal.tas.gov.au and submit your answers to any or all the consultation questions.

Make a submission in an email or letter. The Board’s contact details are below:
Email: Submissions.LGBoard@dpac.tas.gov.au
Postal address: Future of Local Government Review GPO Box 123, HOBART, TASMANIA 7001

SUBMISSIONS FOR THE OPTIONS PAPER CLOSE 19 FEBRUARY 2023.

Regional community meetings:
In early February 2023, the Board will be visiting communities all around the State to hold town hall style meetings. You can register your interest in attending one of these sessions here, and we will be in touch with further updates in the near future.

Engagement with Tasmanian councillors and council staff will also be supported through a series of meetings (LGAT and LG Pro will provide more details shortly).

Sue Smith Chair LG Board – Letter to Councils re Options Paper Release

FoLGR – Stage 2 Options Paper

FoLGR – Stage 2 Options Paper Appendix

FoLGR Stage 2 Community Update

UPDATE: 25 July

The Local Government Board has now collated all feedback from the first round of consultation. You can find a report on their findings here: Stage 1 – Interim Report

The report has developed some themes with questions posed to the community and stakeholders under each theme which the Board is now asking for feedback on.

To find have your voice heard head to the Future of Local Government website.

You can also find more information on this project on our website here: Future of Local Government Review

The Tasmanian Government commissioned the Local Government Board to undertake a review of the role, function and design of Local Government in Tasmania. The Review will provide the Government with practical, evidence-based recommendations needed to ensure the future needs and aspirations of Tasmanians are met.

The Tasmanian Government has launched its Future of Local Government Review and it’s important that we all have our say on what this future may look like.

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There will be a pop-up session in St Helens on Saturday 26 March from 9am – 11am outside the Bay of Fires IGA where you can share your thoughts.

If you are unable to make this session you can still have your voice heard by taking the online survey here:

If you would like more information please head to our website where you will find information as well as relevant links.

https://www.bodc.tas.gov.au/council/local-government-review/

 

 

Council to take-over ownership of the Hub4Health property

Break O’Day Council (BODC) is pleased to announce that the Hub4Health (H4H) building at 5 Portland Court, St Helens will be retained by the community under its ownership.

Last week the St Helens Hub4Health Board officially announced that BODC had been successful in the EOI process developed to hand over the property located at 5 Portland Court, St Helens.

The community began raising concerns about the future of the building earlier this year when the H4H board announced it would be discontinuing its operations and disposing of the property.

Acting Hub4Health Chairperson Mary Targett said that the board felt reassured that BODC’s EOI submission would provide the best outcome for the Break O’Day community.

“The EOI process found that greatest community benefit for the health and wellbeing of Break O’Day residents to will come from the Council’s management of this asset. Hub4Health would like to thank all the organisations who participated in the EOI process and hope the community can now get behind the changes,” Ms Targett said.

“Hub4Health believe that the site can now be developed to its full potential as place for community wellbeing, community and youth services and to address other needs as appropriate.”

BODC’s Mayor, Mick Tucker said that taking over operation of the building was an easy decision for the Council to make.

“We heard the concerns from the community about the disposal of the property and could see how much this community asset really meant them.

“We were all proud of the proposal we put forward which clearly states our intentions to keep community service delivery the core purpose of the building and that the property its self now, and into the future will always belong to the community.”

Under the Local Government Act. Councils can pass a resolution at a Council meeting to classify the H4H site as Public Land. This means if Council ever wanted to dispose of the land there would be a public notification period which would allow the community to have their say on the future of the site.

Council said that any future use of the site will be explored collaboratively with the community and will ensure that the health and well-being of the community remain the primary focus of the property.

 Ansons Bay – Amendment to Sealed Plan    

UPDATED 8 June 2022

This matter has now progressed to a hearing being conducted in accordance with the Local Government (Building and Miscellaneous) Act 1993. The Hearing is not open to the public and is only for affected parties. Those eligible to attend the hearing as determined by the Act have been formally notified.

UPDATED 4 October, 2021

Council has been made aware of community concern raised by a letter that was sent out to residents of Ansons Bay from East Coast Surveying.

The letter has unfortunately caused a lot of confusion and mis-understanding in the Ansons Bay community.  As a result we would like to urgently clarify some points

  • This is not a subdivision application and does not see the removal of any environmental safeguards on the property.
  • This is a Sealed Plan Amendment and NOT a Development Application
  • This will not affect the use of the property under the Planning Scheme.

 

The facts are:

The letter/proposed changes are in relation to ‘Amending a Sealed Plan’ of the property which contains ‘Restrictive Covenants’.

These ‘covenants’ were established when the property was originally subdivided in 1977 and are essentially a private agreement between the property owners of these blocks ONLY.

The ‘covenants’ that are proposed for removal include:

  • Not to excavate or remove clay, stone, gravel or sand (addressed through the planning scheme);
  • Not to conduct a trade or business – (addressed through the planning scheme);
  • Not to display advertising – (addressed through the planning scheme)
  • Not to erect a dwelling of less value than $3500.00 – (addressed through the planning scheme)
  • the removal of a right of carriage way – (now irrelevant due to the construction of Acacia Drive)

If any of the above changes were to come to Council as a development application, as the Planning Authority we would be required to ensure the planning scheme was being satisfied.

These Restrictive Covenants, do not replace the requirements of the Planning Scheme.  Any further developments on this property will have to address the requirements of the Planning Scheme like any other.

Council has received the application to amend the sealed plan in accordance with Section 103 of the Local Government (Building and Miscellaneous Provision) Act 1993.

Affected property owners were formally notified by East Coast Surveying via the letter mentioned above and ONLY those people can support or oppose the amendment by making a formal representation. These representations will be heard prior to any decision being made by Council.

 

Did you know that almost 1 in 20 Tasmanian women have experienced violence? Or that 17% of Tasmanian women have experienced sexual
harassment? Even more worrying than these stats is that on average in Australia, one woman is killed every week by a current or former partner.

This is not good enough and we all must do more.

Break O’Day Council will not tolerate domestic violence in our community.

Domestic violence is defined by the Australian Government as including:
behaviour or threats that aim to control a partner by causing fear or threatening their safety.

Domestic and family violence can include:
• hitting;
• choking;
• denying essential money to the partner or family;
• isolating the partner from friends and family;
• insulting or constantly criticising the partner;
• forcing the partner to have sex; and
• threatening children or pets.

If you or someone you know is affected by domestic violence, they are not alone and there are a range of support services available to help. You can find information and links to support services at www.staysafefromviolence.tas.gov.au.

We have also included some
quick link phone numbers below.
• If you are in immediate danger, Call the Police on 000
 

Support services include:
• Safe at Home Family Violence Response – 1800 633 937
• 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732)
• Men’s Referral service to counsel men who use family violence –
1300 766 491
• LifeLine: 131114
• Kids Help Line: 1800 551 800

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