Mayor's talking points

WELCOMING the premier and cabinet to New Norfolk yesterday, Derwent Valley mayor Martyn Evans outlined a number of points for further discussion today. Councillor Evans thanked the assembled government ministers for taking the time to discuss the future of the Derwent Valley. "The Derwent Valley has a wealth of potential in natural and built heritage, investment opportunities and tourism," Cr Evans said. "We have a growing but ageing population and poor school retention rates and recognise that our future planning must take these things into account."

The mayor's talking points were:

Education: The council is seeking additional educational facilities including the provision of Year 11 and 12 classes for local students and those from neighbouring areas; a trade training centre for horticulture, aquaculture, silviculture, viticulture; and co-locating the already-announced Child and Family Centre in a proposed education precinct.

Health: The council thanked the government for its decision to reinstate x-ray facilities at the New Norfolk District Hospital and was looking forward to the installation of promised air-conditioning in the wards. The council proposed to discuss the idea of an emergency treatment facility at the hospital, to serve the municipal area and neighbours, taking pressure off the Royal Hobart Hospital.

Huon Link Rd: The council is seeking an upgrade to the existing Plenty Valley Link Rd, which connects the Derwent and Huon valleys, for economic and employment benefits as well as taking heavy traffic away from the Hobart CBD.

Police: The council seeks to discuss the need for a 24-hour police presence in New Norfolk. Additional police officers were promised during the last State Election but none have yet been allocated to the New Norfolk Police Station.

Willow Court: Discussions are continuing on future ownership of the Willow Court site.

Derwent Valley Railway: Insurance and access to the rail line are the sticking points preventing the operation of a tourist railway experience in the Derwent Valley and the council seeks the government's assistance with those matters.

Tourism development: The council would like to investigate possibilities for an extended tourism plan for the entire Derwent Valley area and its linkages to the Central Highlands and Huon Valley.

Economic development: The council has engaged a regional development officer and seeks the government's assistance with long-term economic and tourism development projects.

Premier's New Norfolk recollections

FOND memories of her time as one of New Norfolk's parliamentarians were recalled when Lara Giddings made her visit official visit to the town as premier of Tasmania yesterday. Speaking without notes at the start of yesterday's community forum at New Norfolk High School, Ms Giddings spoke of the importance of Corumbene Nursing Home; watching the Eagles play at Boyer Oval; visits to the Derwent Valley Railway, and other memories from her term as an MHA for Lyons from 1996-98.

High school's facilities praised

FEDERALLY-funded improvements at New Norfolk High School were inspected by Premier Lara Gidings and Education Minister Lin Thorp yesterday. Ms Thorp said federal economic stimulus funding around Australia had delivered multi-purpose halls and libraries, science and language centres, general learning areas and new and upgraded gymnasiums and other sporting facilities.

"At New Norfolk High School, local community radio station Tyga FM has signed up to use the school’s new radio station facilities contained in the new Science and Language Centre," Ms Thorp said. "These new facilities have boosted transmission capability and also provided students with the opportunity to learn how to operate a radio station." Ms Thorp said the school’s oval had also been refurbished, creating outdoor learning areas.

Youth event - Rock the Valley

Cabinet to visit New Norfolk

Lara Giddings

PREMIER Lara Giddings and the rest of state cabinet will visit New Norfolk High School for a community forum this Sunday, February 27. Ms Giddings and Derwent Valley mayor Martyn Evans will make speeches at 1.30pm, after which there will be individual meetings between ministers and local residents, by appointment. Click here to request an appointment.

Curiosity killed the barra

SWIMMING too far upstream is thought to have been the cause of death of schools of fish at New Norfolk and Claremont last week. Environment Protection Agency director Alex Schaap said a large number of dead juvenile barracouta had been observed in the River Derwent between the New Norfolk Bridge and the Boyer mill, and in Windermere Bay at Claremont.

Mr Schaap said it was likely the two events were related. “It appears only one species had been affected as there were reports of other fish, such as whitebait and trout, alive in the area” he said. “While testing of samples taken from the earlier event is not yet complete, it is likely that in both incidents the barracouta ventured into the upper reaches of the estuary and became exposed to low salinity water when venturing into the shallows.”

“Barracouta are a marine species and, while juveniles are abundant in estuaries, they are relatively intolerant of low salinity,” Mr Schaap said.

ABC's ghost story busted

AN ABC radio presenter has tonight acknowledged the national broadcaster's error in stating the Derwent Valley Council had hired a team of paranormal investigators to study Willow Court. In an item broadcast on the ABC TV Tasmanian news on Saturday night and followed-up online today, it was claimed a team of "ghostbusters" had been hired by the council to investigate strange happenings at the former hospital site.

The story spread across the internet today and was picked up by news services around the country. In the late afternoon, Statewide Evenings radio host Annie Warburton announced she would be discussing the council's plan with sceptical investigator Peter Barrett who had heard the news in Canberra. But by the time the segment went to air, the ABC had been tipped off that its story was flawed.

Ms Warburton introduced Derwent Valley Mayor Martyn Evans who said no ratepayer funds were being spent on a hunt for ghosts. He said the council had approved the request of three men wanting to "go in and have a look to see what was there." Councillor Evans said the council had imposed strict restrictions on what would be included in a documentary the three researchers proposed to produce.

Sceptical investigator Peter Barrett then came on the line from Canberra, where he had picked up the story today. Having heard the mayor's comments, Mr Barrett said the council seemed to have adopted a responsible attitude. Ms Warburton then made a "slight mea culpa on behalf of the ABC" and noted that the item aired on Saturday's 7pm television news had been titled "Council hires real-life ghostbusters" and that this was incorrect.

The news item can be viewed here.

An image from the ABC TV report

Success for Gretna Under 13s

SHOOBRIDGE Park at Austins Ferry was the setting for a great win over Glenorchy by the Gretna Under 13 cricketers. It was a great team effort with captain Josh Farrow leading from the front with a fine 32 runs, backed up well by Ryan Emery who made 24 and Josh Hills with 21. Gretna again faced their allotted 25 overs, showing that all batsmen are valuing their wicket. When bowling, seven Gretna players captured wickets with Jacksyn Mann the best with two. Five catches were taken, well done kids.
 
A bit of history - young Josh Farrow is the great-grandson of the late Les Cunningham who is regarded as Gretna's finest cricketer. Les who played for more than five decades and was made a life member of the Gretna club. It's definitely in the genes, Josh.

Gretna's junior trophy day will be on March 19 at the Gretna Sports Ground, more details later.

WADE GLEESON

Results - Gretna 6 for 138 off 25 overs defeated Glenorchy 10 for 100 off 25 overs at Shoobridge Park. Batting: Joshua Farrow 32 runs retired (six 4s), Ryan Emery 24 runs (one 4), Josh Hills 21 (two 4s), James Webb 6. Bowling: Jacksyn Mann 2 for 12 off three overs, Aiden Russell 1 for 1 off two overs (one maiden), Josh Russell 1 for 1 off two overs (one maiden), Rupert Johnston 1 for 8 off two overs, Josh Hills 1 for 9 off two overs, Jacob Bowerman 1 for 8 off two overs, Zac Carnes 1 for 18 off two overs.

The Gretna Under 15s had the bye. This weekend's games (Sunday) will see the Under 13s play New Town at Gretna while the Under 15s will meet New Norfolk at Gretna.

Glitch closes bridge to river traffic

THE multi-million dollar reburbishment of the Bridgewater Bridge has been brought undone by by a faulty electrical component. The bridge was closed to road traffic for just over an hour on Friday because of a fault in the mechanism which re-opens the boom gates after the liftspan has been raised and lowered. Cars queued for a considerable distance and traffic was eventually divered via the New Norfolk and Bowen bridges.

After lowering into position to stop cars from falling into the river while the lifting span was raised, the boom gates failed to retract once the lift span had returned to its normal position. Department of Intrastructure Energy and Resources general manager Peter Todd said an initial assessment had shown the cause to have been a failed electrical component. "Further investigation will be done to determine a more precise cause," Mr Todd said.

"To re-open the gates it was possible to override the system. The bridge has since been opened again under the supervision of electricians, but it will not be raised again until the fault has been fully investigated and rectified," Mr Todd said. "At the time of the hold-up there was a yacht upstream of the bridge waiting to travel under the bridge and head downstream. It has since resumed its journey downstream."

Mr Todd said bridge would be closed to river traffic for about a week.

An interesting article about the recently-completed refurbishment project can be found here.

Fire closes pizza shop

FIRE has closed New Norfolk's newest pizza shop only a week after it opened. La Bella Pizza opened in the former Mario's Pizza location at 32 Burnett St last Thursday, bringing pizza-by-the-slice to the town and opening for lunch as well as in the evening.

The alarm was raised at 4am today, with the New Norfolk Fire Brigade arriving soon after. Suspected to have been deliberately lit, the fire caused damage estimated at $50,000. Commenting on their Facebook page, the owners have promised to be "back, bigger, better and brand new."

UPDATE: The Mercury newspaper has more here.

The shop earlier this week.

Junior cricket - round 10

RESULTS from Gretna's junior cricket teams from Round 10 last Sunday.

UNDER 13 - Gretna, 8 for 86 off 25 overs, was defeated by Brighton, 4 for 98 off 25 overs, at Glenora District High School. Batting: Tom Parsons 18 not out (two 4s), Reece Williams 15no (two 4s), Zac Crosswell 6 (one 4). Bowling: Daniel Browning 1 for 2 off two overs, Finlay Chrisp 1 for 11 off two overs, Jock Parsons 1 for 12 off two overs, Tom Parsons 1 for 14 off three overs.

UNDER 15 - Gretna, 10 for 60 off 31 overs, was defeated by Dodges Ferry, 2 for 266 off 40 overs at Glenora District High School. Batting: Jeremy Nossiter 20no (one 4), Nathan Wakefield 7, Trent Grant 3, Brodie Gleeson 3. Bowling: Dylan Carver 1 for 21 off five overs, Joshua Russell 1 for 38 off three overs.

Next games - February 20: Under 13, Gretna v Glenorchy at Shoobridge Park. Under 15 has the bye.

It's Maccas for New Norfolk

A DEVELOPMENT application for a McDonalds Family Restaurant in New Norfolk was approved at tonight's Derwent Valley Council meeting at Maydena.

The meeting started in an orderly fashion, with the presentation of petitions for and against the development. Councillor Damian Bester tabled a petition signed by 330 people opposing the then unspecified fast food restaurant and asked for the details to be recorded in the minutes of the meeting. Deputy mayor Craig Farrell then presented a petition signed by more than 1000 people supporting the development. Public question time drew a number of queries on the development and these were largely deferred until the item came up on the agenda later in the meeting.

It was moved by Cr Jim Elliott and seconded by Cr Farrell that the development be approved on the terms recommended by planner Martin McCance. Mr McCance addressed the meeting and announced that he had made a mistake in his report. He said he had been wrong to write that the development did not comply with heritage provisions of the New Norfolk Planning Scheme. He retracted the statement and apologised for the error, saying the development did in fact comply with the scheme. When questioned about employment figures at the proposed business, Mr McCance deferred to a representative of the developer present in the public gallery, who said there would be eight to 10 people on each shift.

Cr Bester asked the developer's representative if he would like to say who would operate the proposed fast food joint. The representative said he did not believe it was relevant to the development application, but confirmed that the restaurant would be a McDonald's.

Cr Judy Bromfield asked about signage and was advised that a separate application may be required, depending on the type proposed. Cr Bromfield then said she was appalled by an informal submission received from the Tasmanian Heritage Council. "It tells us nothing," she said. Cr Barry Lathey asked the planner whether the development would have an adverse impact on its environment and Mr McCance said there would be an impact but this could be addressed.

With the preliminary discussion out of the way, Cr Elliott was first to speak when the debate began in earnest, remarking that he had listened to a well organised campaign against the development. The meeting was soon in uproar, with Cr Bester alleging that Cr Elliott was verbally attacking people who had expressed their opposition to the fast food proposal. Cr Elliott said he had been bombarded with phone calls and emails and thought the objectors would be better off helping to develop Willow Court instead of opposing business development. The public gallery erupted and Residents Against Inappropriate Development (RAID) spokesman Simon Rolfe stormed out of the meeting. Mr Rolfe is also a member of the Willow Court Working Party.

Cr Bester was next to speak, expressing his regret that the meeting had degenerated to such an extent. He said this was a reflection of the way the development proposal had divided New Norfolk, with unfortunate personal attacks between the opposing camps. He said the developer had not helped by keeping the exact type of restaurant a secret until that point. He said this had caused division and controversy in the local community.

Cr Bester then proposed an additional condition to be included in the proposed approval: "that prior to development commencing, the applicant work with council and community to design a building that is appropriate to the site, taking into account the neighbouring heritage areas."

Cr Bromfield endorsed Cr Bester's suggestion and said it provided a great chance to do something good with the site. She hoped young local people would be given preference for employment at the restaurant and suggested that a training program could be developed with the local high school. Cr Barry Lathey remarked that this issue had created more interest than any other in his time as a councillor. He expressed concern about the potential impact on the adjacent Willow Court historic site noted that the Port Arthur authority had recently created a buffer zone to prevent inappropriate development nearby. However, he was quite sure the developer would do its utmost to provide a building that would compliment the adjacent Willow Court site.

Cr James Graham spoke about the council's responsibilities under the Land Use Planning Act and was followed by Cr Narelle Hill who said she had relied on the planner's advice and feedback from the public in reaching her decision. Cr Farrell said the proposal had the town talking and he valued the input of the public. He thanked everyone who had commented by phone and email and noted that every point raised had a counter-argument.

Closing the debate, Cr Elliott acknowledged his initial remarks had not been taken very well. He repeated his assertion that objectors would be better off helping with practical projects such as painting the Willow Court gates (note: this is not advisable as the gates are subject to a heritage order - Ed). Cr Elliott said he had answered all emails received.  He noted that if the council refused the application and did not provide solid reasons, the matter would go to the planning appeal tribunal and this would cost the community money. He said he accepted Cr Bester's excellent suggestion regarding community input into the design of the proposed restaurant.

The matter was then put to the vote with all councillors except Cr Lathey endorsing the planner's recommendation to approve the development, including the addition of the Bester proposal on the building's design, and a proposal by the planner to combine 52 and 54 Burnett St on a single title.

Cr Scott Shaw was absent from the meeting.

Planner's tick for fast food proposal

Simon Rolfe

OPPONENTS of the proposed New Norfolk fast food restaurant have seized upon alleged inconsistencies in a report by the Derwent Valley Council's planning officer.

In a report to be tabled at this Thursday's Derwent Valley Council meeting in Maydena, planning officer Martin McCance has recommended that councillors approve the application by Humana Pty Ltd to build an unspecified fast food restaurant on the corner of Burnett and George Sts at New Norfolk. In an apparent concession to the concerns of many of the people who lodged written objections to the proposal, Mr McCance has recommended opening hours less than the 24-hour operation requested by Humana.

Speaking at a gathering on the site earlier this evening, Residents Against Inappropriate Development (RAID) spokesman Simon Rolfe said the same report had deemed the development to be inconsistent with the New Norfolk Planning Scheme, specifically on heritage grounds. "But despite this acknowledgement,the development has still been recommended for approval by council, and will be voted on at Thursday’s council meeting in Maydena," Mr Rolfe said.

Mr Rolfe said the RAID group was particularly concerned that comments sought from the Tasmanian Heritage Council had not been included in the report. "Councillors are being asked to prematurely approve the proposal without having access to all of the required information, specifically a crucial Tasmanian Heritage Council submission,” Mr Rolfe said. “The planner has clearly stated that the development doesn’t comply with the Planning Scheme, which leaves the councillors with no other option that to reject the proposal outright."

A petition calling on the council to reject the development application was presented to Councillor Damian Bester, who undertook to table the document at this week's council meeting, which will be held in the Maydena Community Hall at 6.30pm this Thursday night.                                                    

And another one gone

DEMOLITION has resumed on the former Royal Derwent Hospital site, with wreckers moving in on Ward 6 (pictured below). Ward 6 was built in 1966 and its demise started several months ago when tiles began to be removed from the roof. After a break of several weeks, work resumed last week. Situated close to Hobart Rd, Ward 6 was in a better state of repair than most of the other abandoned buildings, having been extensively renovated and refurbished in an ultimately unsuccessful project to convert it into a backpacker hostel and shop.

Video and still images of the destruction of Ward 6 can be found at the Willow Court and Royal Derwent Blog website here.

Junior cricket - Round 9

RESULTS from the Gretna Cricket Club's junior matches on February 6.


Under 13 - Gretna 3 for 120 off 25 overs defeated Brighton 9 for 56 off 17.5 overs at Gretna. Batting: Rupert Johnston 27 retired (four 4s), Josh Hills 19 retired (two 4s), Josh Russell 10no, Aiden Russell 8no, Jack Stevenson 7, Ryan Emery 6. Bowling: Rupert Johnston 2 for 2 off 0.5 overs, Daniel Browning 2 for 2 off 2, Jacob Bowerman 1 for 3 off 2, Aiden Russell 1 for 3 off 2, Josh Hills 1 for 3 off 2, Ryan Browning 1 for 6 off 2, Reece Williams 1 for 15 off 2.

Under 15 - Clarence 5 for 160 off 40 overs defeated Gretna 10 for 137 off 40 overs at Rokeby Village Green. Batting: Trent Grant 53 (six 4s), Zac Webb 20not (three 4s), Alex Blair 20 (two 4s), Connor Salter 8 (two 4s). Bowling: Trent Grant 3 for 10 off 6 overs, Josh Raspin 1 for 12 off 5, Nick Wakefield 1 for 20 off 3.

Next games, Sunday February 13 - Under 13 Gretna v Brighton at|Glenora District High School; Under 15s Gretna v Dodges Ferry at Glenora District High School.

Young cricketers shine

FOURTEEN juniors from the Gretna and New Norfolk cricket clubs represented the Derwent Valley against five other teams contesting the country challenge last week. The Derwent Valley team played three games, winning one, losing two and one ending in a washout.

Spokesman Wade Gleeson said some great cricket had been played over two days, with many fine individual efforts. Four players from the six participating teams were then selected to attend tryouts for the next stage of the program. The players chosen from the Derwent Valley team were Alex Blair, Jacksyn Mann, Joshua Farrow and Reece Williams.

 Mr Gleeson congratulated all the players that had epresented the Derwent Valley last week. He also thanked coaches Paul Banks-Smith and Bruce Emery for their time and effort.

Front from left: Jack Stevenson, Ryan Emery, Josh Ransley, Brayden Chaplin, Blake Kemmler, Ryan Banks-Smith and Nathan Rice. Back from left: Coach Paul Banks-Smith, Reece Williams, Connor Salter, Alex Blair, Joshua Russell, Jacksyn Mann, Joshua Farrow, Zachery Crosswell and coach Bruce Emery. Photo by Janelle Salter.

Hands-on helpers

AT least three Derwent Valley people have been lending a hand in Queensland since Cyclone Yasi struck last week.

New Norfolk State Emergency Service volunteer Leigh Blackwell was part of a contingent of 21 Tasmanian SES members that went to Queensland last Friday and was expected home today. They have been assisting clean-up operations following the impact of tropical cyclone Yasi.

Meanwhile, Derwent Valley Council deputy general manager Robert McCrossen and his wife Wendy joined Red Cross volunteers in Queensland last Thursday and they are expected home tomorrow. Mr and Mrs McCrossen had only recently returned from participating in an earlier Red Cross response to last month's severe floods. In that instance they were joined by fellow local resident Margaret Nichols.

Open garden comes up trumps

LAST week's open day at Rosedown Garden at New Norfolk raised $650 for the Queensland Flood Relief Appeal. The organisers thanked those who attended and noted that the proceeds will be matched by the State Government.

Bikes, boots and barbecues

Some images of Australia Day in Maydena, thanks to the Maydena Community Association.

Morris slams premature plaque party

STATE Infrastructure Minister David O’Byrne had ignored safety issues on the Lyell Highway in order to prematurely declare a recent upgrade had been completed, Greens MHA Tim Morris said last week. He said Mr O'Byrne's recent plaque unveiling had been carried out while works were still ongoing and despite a lack of speed signage on a significant portion of the highway.

Mr Morris said the minister had asserted that the safety of the highway had been “greatly enhanced,” but the safety of the the roadworks was compromised by inconsistent speed zone signage. "The minister unveiled a plastic plaque that had been sticky-taped to a concrete plinth, which seemed to be a perfect example of the unfinished state of the roadworks themselves," Mr Morris said. The plastic plaque has since gone missing.

“Despite the minister’s declaration ... that the roadworks were complete and that the safety of the Lyell Hwy has now been 'greatly enhanced', there are still workers on the roadside," Mr Morris said. In the last week, workers have painted white circles around patches of the new road surface which have already pot-holed.

At the time of Mr Morris' comments last week, there was still a lack of consistent speed signs on a significant portion of the route. “Travelling west from Granton to New Norfolk the Highway is limited to 80km/h, but in the other direction, after leaving the New Norfolk speed limit area, the limit is 100km/h all the way to, and through, the roundabout at Granton,” he said.

Temporary speed signs were installed on Thursday and made permanent on Friday. Also on Friday, a speed camera vehicle spent part of the day monitoring cars in the merging zone at the New Norfolk end of the Murphys Flats overtaking lanes.

New petition supports fast food plan

THE proposal to build an as-yet-unspecified fast food joint in New Norfolk has spawned a second petition - this time in favour of the development. The pro-fast food petition can be found at various locations including the New Norfolk Newsagency.

A view of the future

THE landmark Bridgewater Bridge is likely to remain for generations to come, Derwent Valley Councillors were told this week. A representative of the Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources attended a councillor workshop on Thursday night, bringing with him number of images showing a new bridge built alongside the existing crossing.

The department is consulting councils and communities in the region to obtain feedback on a draft proposal which includes a $300 million two-lane bridge downstream of the old bridge. The new crossing would form part of the national highway between Hobart and Launceston, while the old bridge will be retained for local traffic, cyclists, pedestrians and trains.

The proposed new bridge includes a 16.2m clearance for river traffic, which is said to match the Bowen Bridge. There would be provision to build a further two lanes in the future. It is expected that a final proposal will be put to the Federal Government mid-year. More information is available online here.

The new bridge would connect directly to the Brooker Hwy

The new bridge will be downstream of the existing structure

Praise for New Norfolk Cup

LAST week's New Norfolk Pacing Cup attracted about 2000 people, specialist racing news website Harnesslink reports here. An earlier report here describes pacer Touchwood Bucksta's win as one of the most impressive harness racing victories ever recorded in a New Norfolk Cup at Kensington Park.

Willow Court report nearly there

MANAGEMENT consultant Malcolm MacDonald has this week briefed the Derwent Valley Council on his draft report on future options for Willow Court and is expected to return with his final report in three weeks' time.

Mr MacDonald was engaged last year to review and consolidate all previous plans, studies and documents relating to the Willow Court barracks precinct; to develop a business plan and development strategy; to make recommendations about future employment requirements; and make a start on the development in any time remaining.

At a closed meeting on Monday night, the council voted to receive the draft document and asked Mr MacDonald to have his final report ready before State Cabinet's visit to New Norfolk at the end of February.

Junior cricket results

GRETNA Cricket Gretna Club has provided the following results from the junior matches played last Sunday, January 30.

Under 13s: Gretna 5 for 122 off 25 overs defeated New Norfolk 4 for 67 off 25 overs at Boyer Oval. Batting - Jacksyn Mann 34 not out (5 fours, 1 six), Luke Crosswell 23 retired (3 fours), Reece Williams 13, Zac Crosswell 8, Jack Stevenson 4no, Josh Farrow 3. Bowling - Josh Farrow 1 for 1 off two overs, Reece Williams 1 for 2 off three, Josh Russell 1 for 4 off two overs.

Under 15s: New Town 10 for 125 off 37 overs defeated Gretna 10 for 92 off 30 overs at Gretna. Batting - Alex Blair 31 (1 four), Nathan Wakefield 14 (2 fours), Josh Whitford 10 (1 four), Josh Raspin 3, Connor Salter 3, Dylan Carver 2. Bowling - Trent Grant 2 for 8 off four overs, Dylan Carver 2 for 9 off four overs, Aaron Dawes 2 for 10 off four overs, Nathan Wakefield 2 for 16 off four overs, Aaron Triffitt 1 for 8 off six overs, Josh Whitford 1 for 16 off four overs.

This Sunday's games: Under 13 - Gretna V Brighton at Gretna. Under 15 - Gretna v Clarence at Rokeby Village Green.