Copy
Latest News
What's On
Your Council
Current & Upcoming Works

From the Mayor 

Welcome to the December edition of Your News, the City of Launceston's monthly newsletter. 

With the festive season well and truly upon us and the summer months ahead jam-packed with incredible community-based events and entertainment, it's my pleasure to share the below video message with you:

I'm very proud of what we, the City of Launceston, have achieved together in 2022, particularly the camaraderie of our staff, the relationships we've built with other tiers of government, and our collaborations with the business community, community organisations, event organisers, sporting clubs, developers and many others.

The City of Launceston is a can-do Council whose operations impact every element of our municipality. We manage $1.4 billion in infrastructure, including 385km of urban roads, 365km of rural roads, 605km of footpaths, 87 bridges and some 150 parks and reserves.

We deliver approximately 200 different services to our community, and manage important community facilities like QVMAG, the City of Launceston Leisure & Aquatic Centre, Carr Villa Memorial Park and the Launceston Waste Centre.

With a newly elected Council now taking the reins, I'm very excited about the future.

I wish you and your loved ones a safe and happy Christmas and New Year, and look forward to seeing many of you out and about over the coming weeks.

Mayor Danny Gibson

Securing the future of UTAS Stadium

CEO Michael Stretton

Last week saw the final Council meeting for the year and an important first step towards a new and exciting future for UTAS Stadium.

Early last year, the City of Launceston adopted the UTAS Stadium Future Directions Plan which identified a need for the Council to review the future ownership and governance structure of the Stadium, and its future development needs.

At the last State election, then-Premier Peter Gutwein announced a plan to establish a statutory authority - Stadiums Tasmania - to oversee the management of Tasmania's major sporting facilities, including UTAS Stadium, the Silverdome and Blundstone Arena. The legislation to establish the authority was passed by Parliament earlier this year.

It's intended that Stadiums Tasmania will be responsible for the ownership, management, and capital development of the State's major public stadiums under the guidance and direction of a skills-based board.

The decision taken by the Council last week represents another step in this process. Before a transfer formally takes place, a period for public comment will occur and any objections will be considered by the Council. A planning permit to subdivide the land will also need to be issued, which will form another opportunity for public input.

There's no question UTAS Stadium is a significant community asset, however it also represents a substantial financial impost on Launceston ratepayers in terms of ongoing operational costs and required capital upgrades.

The transfer to Stadiums Tasmania will relieve the City of Launceston and its ratepayers of ongoing annual costs of more than $3 million while also ensuring that the Stadium remains of a contemporary standard that will still meet the needs of top flight sporting competitions as well as the community for many years to come.

Launnie's favourite pools open for summer

The Cataract Gorge's popular First Basin Swimming Pool has opened to the public.

Lifeguards from the City of Launceston Leisure & Aquatic Centre will supervise the pool daily between 11am and 4pm for the duration of the summer school holidays, except for Christmas Day. When school returns in February, lifeguard supervision will revert to between 11am and 4pm on weekends.

Following upgrades to its heating system, the Lilydale Swimming Pool will open to the public from December 31. 

The Lilydale Swimming Pool will be open daily between 2pm and 6pm, with lifeguard supervision courtesy of the LAC. When school returns, the pool will be open between 3pm and 6pm on weekdays.

Mayor Danny Gibson thanked City of Launceston crews for getting the First Basin Swimming Pool open, following repeated flooding in the Cataract Gorge throughout 2022.

"We've seen the pool inundated a number of times by floodwaters throughout the year and this created a number of challenges in getting the First Basin Swimming Pool open to the public," Mayor Gibson said.

"We know this particular pool is an extremely popular attraction, and I'm pleased City of Launceston crews have been able to prioritise the work required in order to open the pool ahead of Christmas for the public to enjoy."

Mayor Gibson is encouraging community members to swim safely this summer.

"No matter where you swim this summer, be conscious of your safety and the safety of those around you - remember that alcohol and water never mix, keep children six years and under within arms' reach, and actively supervise children under eleven,” he said.

"Swimming is an extremely popular past time in Launceston, and we hope everyone dives into a fun and safe summer in the water."

Holiday opening hours and operations

Town Hall and the City of Launceston Customer Service Centre will close at 11am on Friday, December 23, and reopen on Tuesday, January 3, with normal hours resuming. 

  • Report an issue online 24/7 here
  • To report out-of-hours emergencies involving Council services, phone 03 6323 3333
  • Report non life-threating emergencies to Tasmania Police on 131 444
  • Call 000 immediately for all life-threatening emergencies

View the Christmas/New Year opening hours and operations for all City of Launceston services and facilities here

Music in the Park back for summer '23

Music in the Park is back this summer in Launceston's iconic City Park! Relax on the grass amongst the trees and enjoy fantastic local artists performing in the rotunda from 12.30pm to 2.30pm at these free Sunday events:

  • January 8 - The Ferguson Brothers
  • January 15 - Apache
  • January 22 - The Tassie Tenor
  • January 29 - Tas Police Pipe Band
  • February 12 - St Andrews Caledonian Pipe Band Inc & West Tamar Band
  • February 19 - Launceston City Band

Music in the Park may be cancelled in the event of inclement weather - check our Facebook page for updates.

LEARN MORE

Irish supergroup coming to Launceston

Launceston music fans have been left breathless by the recent announcement Irish supergroup The Corrs will perform at UTAS Stadium in November next year, along with special guests Natalie Imbruglia and Toni Childs.

Mayor Danny Gibson said he had no doubt fans from all over Tasmania were as excited as he was to see the incredibly talented musicians perform in our own backyard.

"Given it's been more than 20 years since they released their first album, it's easy to forget just how successful and popular The Corrs were at the peak of their career, selling some 40 million albums worldwide with several number one hits right across the globe," Mayor Gibson said.

"It's also a tremendous tick of approval for UTAS Stadium as a venue and shows just how flexible it is in terms of hosting a broad range of events from AFL, A League Soccer, Big Bash cricket and rugby through to Elton John concerts, as it's done in the past."

Tickets are on sale now via Ticketmaster.

TICKETS

Report into rental e-scooters underway

The trial of rental e-scooters will continue over the summer months as the City of Launceston and City of Hobart collate feedback and prepare final reports into their introduction.

Rental e-scooters were introduced in the two cities last December, following regulatory changes from the State Government which allow both private and rental e-scooters to be used on most Tasmanian local roads, footpaths and cycling trails.

Since their introduction in Launceston, more than 220,000 individual trips have been taken, equating to 394 rides each day and a combined total distance travelled of 425,357km.

The City of Launceston's trial period report is expected to be considered by Councillors at a meeting in March.

READ MORE

Four Hawks games confirmed for 2023

Hawthorn will play four matches at UTAS Stadium next season after signing a one-year contract extension with the Tasmanian Government last month.

It will be the 22nd year the Hawks have called Launceston their second home.

Hawthorn will play its first Launceston game in Round 3 against North Melbourne on April 1, before hosting Adelaide for the third ANZAC Round game in Launceston in a row on April 23. 

They will return in Round 10 to host the West Coast Eagles, then play their final Launceston game against the Western Bulldogs in Round 22. 

Mayor Danny Gibson said the games were great news for Launceston, with the AFL matches generating an extra $30 million a year into the local economy.

"Having such an incredible and prosperous economic driver assisting our economy during the cooler months is something our city and its business owners very much welcome and appreciate every single year," he said.

READ MORE

Heritage photo winners celebrated

The winners of the 2022 Heritage Snap photography competition were recently announced at a special ceremony at Town Hall, marking the 14th year of the Heritage Awards which are organised by the City of Launceston's Heritage Advisory Council.

Mayor Danny Gibson said the awards program continued to grow and evolve each year.

"As part of this evolution, the photography award category for students was added to the program in 2014, acknowledging the importance of young people in the preservation and celebration of our built heritage," Mayor Gibson said.

The Heritage Snap photography competition is open to school-aged students, with the 2022 theme 'Young at heart'.

"This year's entries were of an incredibly high standard and it was extremely pleasing to see so many young people in our community embrace the theme," Mayor Gibson said. Read more

  • Winner - Primary School: Isabelle Gibson
  • Winner - High School: Kate Rigby
  • Winner - Year 11/12: Henry Carls
VIEW GALLERY

Archie 100: A Century of the Archibald Prize

Australia’s oldest and most prestigious portrait award, the Archibald Prize, celebrated its centenary in 2021. To mark the occasion, the Queen Victoria Museum & Art Gallery is one of eight regional galleries to host the celebratory national touring exhibition over two years, revealing the fascinating stories behind 100 carefully selected artworks.

Don't miss out - Archie 100 is on show at QVMAG Inveresk until January 8.

TICKETS
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MY AREA?
REPORT AN ISSUE
VIEW CURRENT JOB OPPORTUNTIES
PAY FOR PARKING WITH YOUR SMARTPHONE

Council meetings

Next meeting: Wednesday, January 25 | Launceston Town Hall | 1pm
LIVE AUDIO STREAM
AGENDAS & MINUTES

Current Development Applications

CLICK HERE
Share Share
Send Send
Website
Email
Facebook
YouTube
Instagram
LinkedIn
Copyright © City of Launceston 2022, All rights reserved.

The City of Launceston acknowledges and pays respect to the traditional owners of this land. 

Your News is distributed monthly by the City of Launceston. You are receiving this email because you opted in to receiving email communications from the City of Launceston.

Want to change how you receive these emails?
Update your preferences or Unsubscribe from this list

Contact us: Email | 03 6323 3000 
PO Box 396 | 18-28 St John St | Launceston, TAS 7250

The City of Launceston makes every effort to ensure the content of this newsletter is accurate but makes no warranty as to its accuracy and does not assume legal liability for its content. The inclusion of a comment, person, organisation, activity, event, or website link does not imply endorsement by the Council.