1909
VOL. 115
NO. 31
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WEDNESDAY AUGUST 23, 2023
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PRICE $1.50 INC GST
Matildas Madness
Buggy Bureaucracy
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Spring shopping spectacular
Helena Bowen, Elli Hays, Maria Branch, and Cynthia Summers get ready for a Dorset Blooms promotion to brighten Scottsdale’s streets. ■ SEE STORY - PAGE 4
Projects to transform North-East Region BY RACHEL WILLIAMS A RAFT of major priority projects to enhance the North-East community have been approved by the Dorset Commissioner. A major community health hub, the Bridport River entrance and marina development, the Derby Bypass and Scottsdale Bike Park are among the projects in the new Draft Council Priority Projects Plan, approved on Monday night. General Manager John Marik said the document was extremely important and had the capacity to be transformational for the region. Residents would be given a 28-day
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window to provide feedback on its contents. “It is a blend of large and small projects and advocacy projects,” Mr Marik said. “Each of these projects represents key investments into the North-East of Tasmania that are expected to have a transformational impact … and lead the way forward for the communities of Dorset. “The plan has been established to ascertain priorities for grant funding, advocacy and election commitments, along with providing a starting point for regional collaborations.” The plan would see the development of a municipal prospectus “to showcase Dorset and attract new business ventures and industry to the region to capitalise on regional strengths which include
agriculture, forestry and tourism”. Municipal marketing strategies and plans would also be developed in a bid to attract young families and entrepreneurs to move into the community. The cost of such projects is still to be confirmed. Mr Marik said a key role in the advocacy area would be for a thorough realignment of the Sideling between the Sideling Lookout and St Patrick’s River, which makes up stage two of the upgrade project. “The actual alignment of stage two still isn’t confirmed and completed. It certainly looks like State Growth prefers the old alignment as it is, while council has been advocating for Corkery’s Road, so there is still additional work to be done in that space,” Mr Marik said.
Another area of importance, highlighted during the development of the council’s Strategic Plan, was health. “There was feedback coming through the community that there is a requirement for a community health hub,” Mr Marik said. “The advocacy in this space is to advocate for a feasibility study and a needs analysis of what elements are missing in the community for a population of 7000 people and where there could be enough scale to attain additional services.” While contentious, Mr Marik said the council would also lobby for an assessment of a Derby Bypass. The priority plan also includes a 2km ■ STORY CONTINUES PAGE 3
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North East 49 Main Street, Ringarooma
Between $320,000 - $350,000 Andrew Bennett M 0427 224 155
andrew.bennett@harcourts.com.au 24 King Street, Scottsdale