Great outcome for community
• More residential houses are currently under construction after all blocks on Beattie Street and Spotswood Drive have now been sold to local people.
By Taylor Clyne
April 08, 2020
It’s been more than two years since the community overturned a controversial social housing development planned on a cluster of vacant blocks at Beattie Street and Spotswood Drive.
The original deal saw Dorset Council gift eight blocks of land to CatholicCare Tasmania for the purpose of providing rental accommodation to the states most vulnerable people.
When the community caught wind of the idea a strong movement gained momentum to put the eight blocks back on the market for private development.
Hundreds attended public meetings and entered submissions to help revitalise the space and keep the blocks available for young people and families.
“Our town has an ageing population with excellent aged care facilities. We need to keep these blocks vacant for our younger generation to build on,” Graeme Woods said at a meeting in 2017.
After months of discussions the deal was overturned, and all eight blocks were put back on the market. Alternate land was sourced on scattered titles to fill the social housing need for CathloicCare too.
By all accounts it was a win, win.
A few years down the track to the most present day and all titles have now been sold with eight new residential houses built.
Mayor Greg Howard said it was a really good outcome.
“It’s particularly great to see that all blocks have been sold to local people and new houses popping up. There’s three being built now as we speak.
“It’s especially notable considering that we were able to find additional blocks elsewhere in the town to meet the needs of social housing.”
“Three units in George Street have been completed for some time and have residents in them, there are two more units at Arnold Place and eleven units in McGilp Street and Hawkes Place that also have been completed,” Mayor Howard concluded.