This week Aaron and John (No Pat Sorry) are joined on the mics by Mayor of Glenorchy, Kristie Johnstone, & the manager of City Strategy & Economic Development, Erin McGoldrick, to discuss their local city and the Greater Glenorchy Plan moving forward towards 2040.

Show Transcript:

Aaron Horne:

All right, everybody. Welcome back to the Property Pod, your accessible and easy way into the property market. I'm your host, Aaron Horne and I'm joined by my only real estate agent today, John McGregor.

John McGregor:

We have lost one.

Aaron Horne:

Yeah, what's going on?

John McGregor:

We have lost Pat Berry. I think he's just made room for the space.

Aaron Horne:

No, well to be honest, he's looking after his daughter.

John McGregor:

He is, yeah.

Aaron Horne:

Yeah, so Quinn's-

John McGregor:

He's got high priorities.

Aaron Horne:

Yes. Family trumps podcast today, but he did send his apologies and it actually turns out pretty well because we have a full deck in here anyway. We'd have to argue over who'd be on the mics.

John McGregor:

Yeah. I know. As I said, I seemed to have been making a lot of promises of people that have to reach out to, but I'm very excited for today.

Aaron Horne:

You've caught one of your big fish.

John McGregor:

Yes.

Aaron Horne:

Yeah.

John McGregor:

Big fish, two big fishes.

Aaron Horne:

Yes.

John McGregor:

Two big fishes.

Aaron Horne:

Yes. You've done very well. So today we're joined on the pod by the mayor of Glenorchy, Kristie Johnston and Erin McGoldrick, the manager of City Strategy & Economic Development.

John McGregor:

Yeah, because when I was looking through these reports, it's ridiculous the amount of work that's gone into it. But I think what I'm really excited by our leadership in the council at the moment is they're legitimately taking and doing work that's going to last long past their tenure.

Aaron Horne:

Yes.

John McGregor:

So looking 30, 40 years out from now and what that's going to look like for the greater plan of the whole municipality of Glenorchy.

Aaron Horne:

So this is the Greater Glenorchy Plan that you're talking about?

John McGregor:

Yeah, that's it. So it's available to everyone now, but I thought it'd be really exciting to get them in to actually talk about that from their perspective also too then, and how people can still get involved.

Aaron Horne:

Yeah. Cool. Excellent. What we might do is we'll cut away. We'll come back with our wonderful guests and we will be right into the thick of things with your big fish.

John McGregor:

Oh, yeah.

Aaron Horne:

Oh, yeah.

John McGregor:

Reel them in.

Aaron Horne:

Alrighty.

Speaker 1:

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Aaron Horne:

All right guys, we're back at the desk. We've got our big fish here. We've reached out our lure and we've caught the mayor and her... I got it right the first time. I was reading it, that's how I got it right.

Erin McGoldrick:

Her officer.

Aaron Horne:

Her officer. Manager of City Strategy & Economic Development.

Erin McGoldrick:

That's right.

Aaron Horne:

Erin McGoldrick and mayor of Glenorchy, Kristie Johnston. Welcome to the Property Pod.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

Hello, it's lovely to be here.

Aaron Horne:

Thank you so much for coming in. It's really lovely to have some guests on here that we've been promised for so long and you guys probably wouldn't know, but John has been saying, "Oh, I can get Kristie. I can get Kristie."

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

He only had to ask once.

John McGregor:

I know.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

Straight away.

John McGregor:

Well, I just sent you an email link, and here we are.

Aaron Horne:

Funnily enough, we've crossed paths walking our dogs down near Glenorchy Primary one time. And I was like, "What if John has asked? I might just ask myself."

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

You should've done. And then trumped him.

Aaron Horne:

Yeah, and be like, "John, I've caught your big fish." We just wanted to thank you first for coming in and discussing this Greater Glenorchy Plan. I looked over it last night. I didn't think it would be as interesting a read as it was when it's 80 pages or something like that. It's like, "Oh no, this is going to be a slug."

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

There's lots of pictures.

Aaron Horne:

Yeah. There's heaps of pictures, but there's heaps of really cool stuff in there. It's funny. My family home was in Claremont. I then lived in Moonah later in life, and then now I've bought in Glenorchy. So I've ticked off all the municipalities. I've collected all of Glenorchy.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

You have? Well done.

John McGregor:

Well, I know it's the same. We're at Glenorchy and then my first house was in Claremont, now I'm back in Moonah. So we're doing a full loop here. So we're all Northern suburbs. What do they say? Born and bred.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

Born and bred.

John McGregor:

Through and through.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

Absolutely. Glenorchy people.

Aaron Horne:

I know one of the things that you really took out of it, John, I think you've actually been in an article in America or something about the flannelette curtain.

John McGregor:

Oh, yeah. Well that was always, I suppose, a running joke for us for a lot of times, isn't it? Well, that's a thing that even in the people you've interviewed, have brought that up themselves. It's obviously a colloquial term that all of us know, but anyone who's within the flannelette curtain now, just doesn't really perceive it that way.

John McGregor:

It's more so, it's shifted almost from a sense of where they would be shamed about the place I grew up with to actually now it's actually a real sense of strength.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

Absolutely, and that's what the great Glenorchy plan is all about. We want to build a future for our community that looks like our community and feels like home to the people who live here. So the very first part of what we did was talk to our community about who are they? What are their values? What do we want to see in our community moving forward into 2040?

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

When I grew up, as I'm sure you guys did, the flannelette curtain was a real thing. The latte line, North Creek road, that was a really definite thing and things have changed significantly. And we really, in some ways we embrace the flannelette curtain, but also we've moved beyond it.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

And so when we had that conversation, it was about what does the future hold for our community? And it's really bright. There's lots of opportunities. And how do we make sure we take everyone along on the journey with us?

John McGregor:

And that theme, isn't just Glenorchy city itself, but that was oriented towards the three most dense population. So Moonah, Glenorchy, and Claremont, and then consulted with people about what they've saw those communities to be. Is that correct?

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

That's correct. So yeah, the municipality is really quite broad. It's a broad church of people. We're an incredibly diverse community. We have a great multicultural community here. We have a range of people from highly skilled manufacturers, professionals, to our retailers, to our allied health service workers who all contribute such a lot to our local economy, but we want to make sure that we don't end up bland and like every other city in the State or in the country in the world, we want to be really uniquely Glenorchy.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

And one thing that came through really strongly from our Glenorchy identity piece, is that we are genuine real people. What you see is what you get. We don't hide from who we are. We're not ashamed. We're really quite bold about it. And we welcome everybody into our cities. So the Moonah, Glenorchy, and Claremont CBDs all have very unique characters. We want to make sure that when we build our urban form in the coming years, that it replicates the people who live there.

Aaron Horne:

Yeah. I really like that. I think there was something in one of the comments from one of the people that was interviewed in it. And they'd said something along the lines of, "Moonah was such a grayed little stretch of the Main Road. Where's all the art, where's all the things that we want to see?"

Aaron Horne:

And I was like, "Oh yeah." When you think about it, there's the archway in the middle, but I feel like growing up, it used to have a bit more vibrance. And then now it's like, "Oh, how can we get that back? And how can we create something in a future that is uniquely... " What was the Moonah right up your street? Does that still exist?

John McGregor:

No.

Aaron Horne:

Was that the catch car? Do you remember that at all?

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

I remember that. Yes.

John McGregor:

That's true.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

It's a long time since I heard that.

John McGregor:

Good remembering.

Aaron Horne:

It was right up your street.

John McGregor:

Your street, yeah.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

That's right.

John McGregor:

Well that was at that time too where Harris Scarfe would have had the 50's city cafe and stuff like that too. And I remember that was one of the most exciting things.

Aaron Horne:

Go get a frog in the pond.

John McGregor:

Yeah. I used to love that, but that's about all I remember. I was on offerings for Moonah at the time, but there was another one, one of the characters, people that interviewed said there were at times they've seen when there was just nothing there too.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

Absolutely and we went through a period, not so long ago where we had empty shops all down Main Road and that was really quite concerning, but we see it changing significantly. So Moonah is very multicultural, which is fantastic. And what comes with that is great business opportunities for our local retailers in particular.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

So we've seen new restaurants opening up and St. Albi's has changed the face of Moonah.

Aaron Horne:

Most definitely.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

The Moonah art center is a fantastic community art space, which people could travel all rounds within Tasmania to come and participate in the exhibitions there as well. So it's had a change, it's more vibrant, the alleyways are a great opportunity to go and explore.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

We don't want to recreate North Hobart. North Hobart's great for North Hobart people, but we're Moonah people. And so we want to make sure it's something that's special for Moonah.

John McGregor:

That's right.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

It's about the little African retailers and things like that.

John McGregor:

Absolutely.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

And the laneways, it's about the Indian spices, it's about Gurkhas clothing on Main Road, which is a fantastic Nepalese couple of young people who've started up their own business. And it's fantastic. So it's about those different kinds of experiences and people actually going, "Hey, you know what? Traveling beyond the flannelette curtain to explore what's happening in Moonah or Glenorchy and Claremont is really quite exciting. And we want to be in that space."

John McGregor:

Yeah, absolutely. There's Japanese and [inaudible 00:08:37] Thai.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

Heaps of them.

John McGregor:

Well the thing is too, is the diversity of the Moonah culture in that sense from both Western through to all around the world, there's so many that people just don't see. And that's what I love about this idea of perceptions is that people have got all these old stories and I'm filled with them as well, but they're gone.

John McGregor:

They'll have these elements, even in our industry, they'll say say, "Look, people say I shouldn't buy into this." It's like, "Well with respect, they have no idea what the heck they're talking about because whoever told you that, has not experienced it within the last several years. They're hanging on to stories of 20 years ago."

John McGregor:

And that's what's really exciting and spares for me looking at this and the hard work you guys have done, putting this consultation plan together.

Aaron Horne:

Well, this is looking 20 years forward.

John McGregor:

That's it. Yeah. So even 20 years back's not relevant today and what's relevant today is not going to be relevant 20 years from now.

Erin McGoldrick:

And that's always interesting because you often hear the voices of people who say, "Oh, well, I've lived here for 30 years and I can tell you what it's like," but really the point of what we need to do and what we need to prepare for is all the five and 10 year olds who are living here, what we can do to create that vision and make them want to stay, like you guys have.

Aaron Horne:

Give them the pride of saying, "I was born here and I love coming here and being a resident of the city."

Erin McGoldrick:

That's right.

Aaron Horne:

Yeah, definitely.

Erin McGoldrick:

All the infrastructure that we provide at council, ultimately they're the people that's going to serve, the five and 10 year olds that are living here, growing up in Moonah with their parents.

Aaron Horne:

Then we'll have podcasts in the 2040s and they'll be looking back and say, "I had to remember that."

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

It's very revolutionary.

John McGregor:

That's right.

Aaron Horne:

"That amazing piece of media that came out in 2020, that horrible year, but there was one shining light."

John McGregor:

"There was one shining light, the Glenorchy plan." Where did the genesis of this idea start for you both? The amount of work that obviously has gone into this, where did this idea start originally that you wanted to build this vision for the future?

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

Glenorchy is growing so fast. We've got about a $1.5 billion pipeline of investment happening in our city right now, which is fantastic in terms of manufacturing, in terms of housing and opportunities, retail, commercial precincts, and things, which is great, but it could get out of control very quickly. And we want to make sure that we take everybody along that journey with us, that nobody misses out because that's our character. That's who we are. We look after each other, we're genuine real people.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

So to make sure as a council that we are facilitating that kind of development and making sure that we get the most out of it, that people get good local jobs and things like that, we needed to have a plan for the whole city. And so the Greater Glenorchy Plan is really talking about the entire city.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

How do we make sure that the council dollar that we spend, or the advocacy that we put onto State and federal government is tied into an actual plan that delivers results for our community, so that's where the Greater Glenorchy Plan genesis is. It's about who we are as a community, making sure that we build that community in the future.

John McGregor:

I love that too because I mean from the outside, as you could say, politicians might be very real self-serving. And even the local people working within council will be very self-serving. But the idea that you are working towards his thing, like I said at the start is that you're basically building a plan that you fundamentally know you won't be a part of, a few decades from now.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

I don't intend on moving anywhere-

John McGregor:

Yeah, you know what I mean?

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

... but I won't be the one in the seat of power as a mayor in 10 or 15 years time. So it's about providing a legacy for our future generations to make sure that the things and the decisions that we make now, are good strategic decisions.

John McGregor:

I love that. Well, because I mean, from your seat Erin then, as one of the drivers of this, what's this experience been like for you and how...

Erin McGoldrick:

Well, the strategy part of my role is all about looking forward, so that bit I'm always asking, "What are we doing in 10 years time? What are we doing in 20 years time?" But the economic development part and the strategy part really come together in this plan. So as Kristie said, we've got this huge investment pipeline in Glenorchy.

Erin McGoldrick:

We've got things like the light rail developing along the Northern transit corridor.

John McGregor:

Yeah, that's exciting.

Erin McGoldrick:

We have the Hobart City deal, we have changes to the planning scheme. So there's all of these things that are in flux and are changing. And there's opportunity in that, so that's the economic development part. If we're prepared, if we have a vision that actually all of the real genuine people of Glenorchy have fed into, then we're prepared to actually take advantage of the opportunity in all of that growth.

Aaron Horne:

So build some ownership from the ground up.

Erin McGoldrick:

Absolutely. So the identity project was really interesting. We are very real, we're noble dust kind of people. So if we, or if my team at council created a Greater Glenorchy Plan and did all this desktop analysis and looking at the economic drivers, but it wasn't rooted in what Glenorchy people want, we'd be called out. And then there's no point.

Aaron Horne:

Yeah, definitely.

John McGregor:

It would just be another big folder on the shelf that no one gives a crap about.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

Yeah. And let's face it, State government, federal governments are full of strategies and documents that just sit on the shelf and create dust.

John McGregor:

Yeah, a 100%.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

We don't want that for our plan.

Erin McGoldrick:

That's right. It's about articulating how we can make the most of these opportunities that they are coming our way. If we're not prepared, if we don't have that shared vision, they could pass us by or could just happen in weird places in the city. So by having the Greater Glenorchy Plan there, it helps us to focus where we want these things to be, and also to articulate who we are as a city, where the interesting bits are and how they're different.

Erin McGoldrick:

So people who want to come here and we know people want to move to Tazzie, we know people want to move to Hobart. What is it that they're looking for and is it in Glenorchy? And so the Greater Glenorchy Plan also helps send out that message, whether you're a young family who's wondering where they want to live, and maybe that's Moonah because there's lots of other young families there.

Erin McGoldrick:

Or whether you're an investor wanting to open a large format retail or a new young business that wants to start a boutique clothing shop and maybe that Moonah's the place for you. It articulates all of that and celebrates it.

John McGregor:

Absolutely. Well even in Moonah now, we'll go back to the first off with the Shake A Leg coffee, that was a first one where it was a non-branded, "We do nothing, but... " And then from that, then you've got other little cafes that will do the same. So Straight Up around now will do focused on gluten-free and vegan elements to it.

John McGregor:

So what I think is, it's naturally evolving and these businesses that are surviving, that's their own unique selling point, you'd say, but they're exceptional at it.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

Yes.

John McGregor:

And even in Moonah, I've just watched those transition of different shops come and go. You've got different seamstresses, et cetera, but there was one that did focus on... I don't know, I forget her name, but she actually did really well until she closed up, which was focused on rockabilly clothing.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

Ah, yes, Billy. Yeah.

John McGregor:

That was really cool. When I was reading through it as well, that really struck a chord with me in that, "Bring your identity to the city because it's going to be nurtured." And that seems to be something that now, across our municipality, people are so excited by, and that seemed to be a reflection when you had a couple of our new Tasmanians where they actually feel very welcomed in this part of the...

John McGregor:

And not part of, they're going to be in their little hub and their little culture. It's like, no they're actually welcomed by everyone because everyone wants to see that. It seems that with part of this plan is that that's obviously where you guys are hoping to encourage.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

Absolutely. It's a city where you can have a go. So if you've got a business idea, you've got a speciality, then have a go, have a crack at it. And you'll find that people come out to support you. So you're quite right John, that in Moonah, we've got these little specialist pop-up shops that people have really got behind and supported and that's been fantastic.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

And even during the coronavirus, in terms of our response to it, our activity city businesses are amazing. They support one another. We promote them and there's this really sense of community.

John McGregor:

Yeah, there was something that came up as a theme was the differences with the way that the locals in each city, you could see them evolving. And that's why each plan for the Claremont, Glenorchy and Moonah are all different and they've all got different visions. What was the story there? Was it Claremont was very oriented around family and what was the differences you found in that research?

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

Yeah, so that they are very different characteristics. Claremont is all about that family. It's the history of Claremont around a garden town. Cadbury's has been a really massive influence on there. There's some really important historical properties there with the Claremont house. And obviously with our Claremont primary school and the army camp there.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

But it's all about families and there's a fantastic little shopping precinct there that gives you everything you need in one spot. We didn't want to mess around with the character of that too much. We wanted to really embrace it, but provide better public amenities. So great open spaces is what it's all about. It's about supporting those retailers that are there, making sure that the housing form that's built around there matches the demand.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

So we have a lot of older people living in Claremont. They're living in three, four bedroom houses at the moment. They perhaps want to downsize into something a bit easier to manage. They're looking for a bit of an apartment style or a unit style housing. But then we have young families moving into the area too, who want to start out in the property market and they want those three, four bedroom houses.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

So being able to match that family community feel because it's a really fantastic space. Let me move into Glenorchy. And then Glenorchy is really about making sure that we are very clear. This is our primary CBD. So this is the opportunity for big retail. Erin, you were talking about those big box retailers and things like that.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

It's a great place for people to be investing in. Also, extremely livable it's right in the harvest city. It's only a few minutes, hopefully on a route to the city, to Hobart CBD, but it is a really important primary retail sector precinct for us as well.

Erin McGoldrick:

And it's the service center as well.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

Absolutely.

Erin McGoldrick:

So you're thinking about the Glenorchy CBD, it's important to, dare I say it, go over our municipal boundaries. A lot of people come to our Glenorchy center from Brighton, from New Norfolk, it has the Centrelink, the library, council when you have to come and pay your rates. It has all of the things that moms generally tend to do, no offense guys, but when you have to hit it and get your five things done, pay the bills.

Aaron Horne:

Get it there.

Erin McGoldrick:

Glenorchy is the start.

Aaron Horne:

Glenorchy is the place to do it.

Erin McGoldrick:

That's right.

John McGregor:

That makes sense, absolutely.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

And then we get to Moonah and it's all about really embracing that diversity. It's about making those unique boutique opportunities. It's about the laneways, the art, the culture, but also about the housing opportunities as well because we know that Moonah is becoming a very attractive place to invest in. And Erin's pointing to me, we have a 124% growth in Moonah, which is enormous.

Erin McGoldrick:

The population growth for Moonah over the next 20 years is going to be huge and there's really immense opportunity because Moonah's got that proximity to the rail corridor and also to Hobart as well.

Erin McGoldrick:

The population growth is happening organically, so without driving it and the opportunity to develop good quality, medium density city living for those young families is enormous. That's a lot of population growth and that is very close to the CBD. So there's huge opportunity there for investment.

John McGregor:

Absolutely. And I'm glad you guys mentioned the rail corridor in that sense because a lot of these big designs that you've had, they're all linked... It's a much more smart design of to how everyone's going to orient themselves and walk through these cities as well.

John McGregor:

And Moonah, in some of them an almost complete re-imagining of what it is right now, but what's really exciting though is that it seems to be that young people do want an alternative than just car travel. Being able to create these communities that they can be very, very excited about, leveraging all these good infrastructures that we have is going to be so important. I think it's really exciting that you actually integrate that into those plans as well.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

Absolutely, so transport and land use go hand in hand together.

John McGregor:

Absolutely.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

And we really need State and federal governments to understand the importance of doing both at the same time, transport planning, and land use planning. We are incredibly fortunate that as a municipality, our city has grown around a historic railway lines.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

So our CBDs, our Claremont, Glenorchy and Moonah CBDs center around a railway line that we do not use at the moment.

Aaron Horne:

Just seems like a no brainer.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

It's an absolute no brainer. It's a billion dollar asset. I mean, if you were in the mainland wanting to set up a new railway line in Sydney or in Melbourne, you're talking billions of dollars here.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

We already have that asset right through the hearts of our CBDs and it connects them. It is really critical for moving forward to make sure we can actually achieve what's in the Greater Glenorchy Plan and we can capture the most of this economic development pipeline that we actually have investment in passenger rail services along that line.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

It connects people to education, services and jobs. It also makes the housing much more affordable and attractive. So as you say John, young people that they don't necessarily want to be having a car or the responsibility of owning and the cost of owning a car, they want to be able to catch the train to the city.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

They want to be able to walk around their city, have an accessible city. So our lane ways and pathways and cycleways that connect to each other, are just as important as the buildings that we have.

John McGregor:

Yeah, absolutely. And I know because I'm living in Albert Road now and it makes me sound more fit than I am, but I ran to the gym and then after that, I walked to the supermarket and then walked back home with the groceries.

Aaron Horne:

Oh, mate. Look at that.

John McGregor:

But it was just that reminds us like this is I suppose exactly what our future idea is going to be. And the restriction obviously with the planning code as well as it that with Moonah especially down the bottom section, you've got this post-World War II homes predominantly, and there isn't the capacity to be able to do a medium density on it at all.

John McGregor:

And most of the development is oriented around, "We're doing separate units," which doesn't really add a whole lot more density than the single homes anyway. And so this marrying of the redevelopment or re-imagining of the way that the railway and the transport utilize along with the shopping precincts, and then you've got these stories like I just experienced in the small way of being able to do the short walk, and the fact that we've got to be ready for the reality that it's going to double, all this is just so important.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

Absolutely. To keep up with the housing supply issues that we have at the moment, we really need to look at how can we densify our housing offering at the moment. And our planning scheme says to us that, "If you're going to build a house, you need to have two car parks for every house." So if you're building two units, you need four car parks.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

Now, that's a lot of space. That's not high value. It's not valuable to the property owners. It's not valuable to the community. What we want to be able to see is a more diverse response, I suppose, to the planning scheme and saying, "Look, well, if you've got good public transport, then you don't actually need to have two cars per household."

John McGregor:

Yeah, for sure.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

You could probably get away with one car per house, or maybe even no cars per household. So it's about making sure we've got good public transport offering, which then means that we can be more flexible in our land use response and the requirements that we have in our planning scheme.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

And we can actually say, "Well, dense housing is what we want. Apartments are great. You don't need to have a car park for every apartment because we know that your supermarkets are within walking distance. You've got great public transport a 100 meters away. Everything you could possibly need is within your CBD and you're living close to that."

John McGregor:

Well, the other part too is you think about even the cycle way, that links all the way from the city through to Claremont as well, is that by opening these up, you very quickly still have even better access through to the city in the way that you want to, because then you don't have to worry about all that extra car park and all that kind of stuff.

John McGregor:

I noticed in the plan too, remember that we're at the base of a mountain, so there is a very limited amount of space. You can't just sprawl out. And a lot of the things that development are doing at the moment, the large scale ones, are these urban sprawl, single dwelling developments that isn't going to really cater for what a lot of people are trying to or could imagine themselves being a part of, which fundamentally is pushing people out of a community that they want to be a part of.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

That's exactly right. And it doesn't make good sense from strategic infrastructure planning as well. So the further out we sprawl, the further we need to stretch our infrastructure, so that's sewerage and water infrastructure, it's stormwater infrastructure, road infrastructure.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

We need to build schools further and further out, or ferry children in further from out near the fringes, into our CBD schools. So it doesn't make good sense in terms of strategic infrastructure planning to allow that kind of urban sprawl. It does make sense though, to densify around our existing CBDs and around our existing infrastructure and maximize the benefit of what we already have in place.

John McGregor:

Yeah. A 100%. I mean, though these initial consultation designs have been done, how can people start to now get involved in this process?

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

Great.

Aaron Horne:

Great question, John.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

Wow, excellent.

Erin McGoldrick:

We have an online portal called letstalk.gcc.tas.gov.au so you can hop online if you have access to the internet and you can have a look at all of the plans. So there's the full report, which I'm sure you guys have read every word on, which runs about 80 pages. We've also developed a summary document. So it's more like 20.

Aaron Horne:

What? You didn't tell me this.

John McGregor:

Sucked in.

Erin McGoldrick:

You needed to do your homework to get us on the show.

Aaron Horne:

I thoroughly enjoyed the read. We did talk about this before the show.

Erin McGoldrick:

So if you don't feel like reading the full document, we do have a summary in there. And more importantly, we've got the three precinct maps. So it's laid out in color and form of what that future vision looks like for Claremont, Moonah and Glenorchy. If you can't get online, we have a display up at council chambers at the Moonah art center at Northgate Shopping Centre, and also at the name of the shopping-

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

Claremont Plaza.

Aaron Horne:

Claremont Plaza.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

But everyone knows it as Claremont Village.

Aaron Horne:

Claremont Village.

John McGregor:

Yeah, Claremont Village.

Erin McGoldrick:

Claremont Village.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

That's right.

Erin McGoldrick:

So there's there's information everywhere. And we really want to know any thoughts or feelings you have about the plan.

Aaron Horne:

Yep.

Erin McGoldrick:

By getting all this information in now, the master planning layers up our people and their vision, the economic research, the socioeconomic factors into this plan. And then the next stage from there is actually looking at our planning scheme and being able to hang our hat on the Greater Glenorchy Plan and go, "Well, these are the changes that we think we need in the scheme to support what we know our community wants to see."

Aaron Horne:

Yeah, absolutely.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

And in terms of, we're really keen to get their feedback on the Greater Glenorchy Plan, but as a council where we are open for business and Erin's other role in economic development is all about having the conversations now and talking to local businesses about how can you invest, if you're looking to expand in the property market and it might be housing and residential, it might be commercial.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

And we've got lots of ideas in terms of what you can do right now to make a difference and to really be progressive in the way we're developing our cities. So we're very keen to have those conversations and Erin and her team and our planners are here to help. And that's the key message.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

So if you're excited about Glenorchy and you think, "I want to get ahead of the game, and I want to jump in now and invest," please do, because we are ready to help you through that process and make sure that you get the best outcome because when they get the best outcome, developers do, then our city does its jobs. And it's fantastic for our community.

John McGregor:

Yeah. I love that. Now, we caught up around this exact conversation as well. And it's to say, "Look, we all understand there are limitations of what is available to us right now, but how is it then if you're in line with this vision, what can you do a little bit more? Yes, invest a little bit more, or take a little bit more of a risk because inevitably with the vision that we've got, it'll pay off without question.

John McGregor:

And you might have to go against the grain a little bit of what everyone else is doing, but it'll be worth it." And I think it's really exciting that especially with the council and your team, it's like, there's no nos at the moment. It's just like, "How can we make this happen?"

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

Yeah, exactly. We don't like to say no at council. We like to say, "Let's see how we can make what you want, happen." And there are different pathways to do that. And sometimes it's not the traditional pathway. Sometimes you need to branch out a bit and find a different way of doing things. But we're all about trying to find those solutions.

John McGregor:

Yeah, absolutely.

Erin McGoldrick:

I'm your spirit guide, guys.

Aaron Horne:

Ooh, I like that. Erin, your spirit guide.

John McGregor:

I love it. That's perfect.

Aaron Horne:

Well, thank you guys so much for coming in. I think we'll wrap that up there. It was an interesting 80-page read, which I did go through.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

And you'll enjoy the 20-page one now.

Aaron Horne:

I wish I knew there was a 20-page one when I was trying to get my son to sleep, but all is good. Yeah. It's been amazing having you guys come in and talk to us and thank you for asking that one time, John. That was all that was required.

John McGregor:

Absolutely. Just once.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

Any time.

Erin McGoldrick:

Great fun.

Aaron Horne:

Yeah. We really appreciate your time and anybody out there, we will add some links to the Greater Glenorchy Plan. Was it letstalk.gcc...

Erin McGoldrick:

.tas.gov.au.

Aaron Horne:

All the dots. I'll add that into the show notes and we'll go from there.

John McGregor:

Yeah, and I know this is around real estate and Property Pod focus, but I think for those of our listeners that are really looking at what are some graded areas to invest in, I think you've just heard it this morning.

Aaron Horne:

Oh, definitely.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

You cannot go wrong with the Glenorchy municipality.

John McGregor:

That's it. That's exactly right.

Aaron Horne:

Put that on a t-shirt.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

Exactly.

John McGregor:

It's happening.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

It impacts with the wording for that, but yeah.

John McGregor:

Awesome, thanks so much.

Aaron Horne:

Awesome, thanks so much for coming in guys.

Mayor Kristie Johnston:

Thanks for having us.

Aaron Horne:

Not a problem. All right, that was excellent.

John McGregor:

Yeah, mate. I've been really blessed actually to have met those two, years ago. It's been really nice to carry that relationship and actually in some ways you can call them friends, which is really nice.

Aaron Horne:

Yeah, it's crazy when you can call the mayor of Glenorchy your friend.

John McGregor:

Yeah, exactly. And well, I mean, I've watched Kristie even before she was in that role, but the culture that's within the council now is just from what I can see and obviously you can see the direction that they want, is just phenomenal because they have nothing but the biggest picture and nothing but the best for the community. It's outside of themselves, which is really interesting.

Aaron Horne:

I guess we talked at the start, how we're born and bred Glenorchy. And we wore, as a badge of honor for our city. So even the people in the other suburbs that are listening, we hope you've got that much pride in your areas as we do.

John McGregor:

Yeah, absolutely.

Aaron Horne:

So yeah, it was awesome having them on. We will put the link in the show notes and such. And we might pop it on our socials as well just for anyone out there, that Erin mentioned, the letstalk.gcc.tas.gov.au. That's a mouthful.

John McGregor:

Yeah. And I think in there also too, the consultation process ends at the 30th of November, however, and there's a lot of information to go through, but it's worth actually taking the time to look at it.

Aaron Horne:

Yeah. That ends on the 30th. Anyone out there that wants to reach out to them, that'd be really good. And if you want to be involved in the community moving forward to 2040 and beyond.

John McGregor:

Yeah. And I know they'd both come back and it'd be fun to have them back as the months progress, as their plan progresses as well.

Aaron Horne:

Well, what did we learn, John, about how do we get them on the show?

John McGregor:

Send an email.

Aaron Horne:

Yeah, you just ask.

John McGregor:

Send a text.

Aaron Horne:

You just ask.

John McGregor:

Yep, that was...

Aaron Horne:

We caught your big fish. It doesn't matter. Big fish caught.

John McGregor:

We got there, we got there.

Aaron Horne:

Awesome.

John McGregor:

Look, I know that's the point I finally put the line in the water. It's been sitting on the boat all this time.

Aaron Horne:

There you go. There's something to be learned. There's a mechanism right there.

John McGregor:

Yep.

Aaron Horne:

All right. We'll be back on the mics next week with Pat. It will probably just be the three of us in the studio, so they're always fun to do.

John McGregor:

Absolutely.

Aaron Horne:

As were the giggle with those ones.

John McGregor:

Yep. Yep.

Aaron Horne:

Like, share, subscribe. We never ask to do that. And I was listening to one the other day and I was like, "Ah, maybe we should."

John McGregor:

Yeah, everyone else seems to do it.

Aaron Horne:

Just pass it along. We don't really know what it does, but I'm sure it would help.

John McGregor:

And everyone just like I did, don't think about it. Just do it. Just like, share, subscribe. Just put your lure in the line. That's it.

Aaron Horne:

All right. Cheers.

John McGregor:

See ya.

Speaker 6:

You have been listening to the Property Pod, produced and edited by 4one4 Media House in conjunction with 4one4 Real Estate and McGregor First National Proprietary Limited. This podcast is general information only. And the thoughts and views expressed is the opinion of our panel and listeners should always seek their news of their own investigation into any topic we discuss, to ensure they fully understand their own situation.

Speaker 6:

It does not constitute and should not be relied on as purchasing, selling, financial or investment advice or recommendations expressed or implied. And it should not be used as an invitation to take up any agent or investment services. No investment decision or activity should be undertaken on the basis of this...


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