City of Launceston Council says it will continue to work with service providers supporting the city’s homeless population, following a decision to refuse a local charity’s request to use Council land for temporary housing.
At yesterday’s Council meeting, Councillors formally considered the request of homelessness charity, Strike It Out, to house its sleeping pod trailer and shower trailer on Council-owned land.
Despite extensive discussions about the trailer initiative between the Council and Strike it Out spanning nearly two years, an appropriate pathway forward has not been identified, the Council said in a statement.
“The Council has informed Strike it Out on multiple occasions that further information was required to assess the project for approval to operate on Council-managed – to date the required documentation has not been provided,” the Council says.
“The Council estimates that hundreds of hours have been dedicated to responding to emails, attending meetings, liaising internally, and responding to external stakeholders and interested parties including media outlets regarding Strike it Out’s sleeping pod project.”
Mayor, Matthew Garwood said the Council had engaged with Strike it Out over many months to attempt to progress the sleeping pod project.
This included providing Strike it Out with suggestions to partner with existing charities and support services, to seek support from private landowners to secure an appropriate site, and to provide advice on how to complete the required documentation, he said.
“Homelessness is a really complex and emotive issue in our community, and we know there’s been a lot of interest in this particular project,” Mayor Garwood said.
“In a final attempt to progress this matter, Council officers proactively brought it before Councillors for consideration at this week’s Council meeting, and developed a comprehensive agenda item outlining the facts that everyone can access, so community members are aware of our efforts seeking a positive outcome
“Included in that agenda item is a list of Council-managed land, its suitability for a project of this type, and some of the legal risks that would fall on ratepayers were the sleeping pod project to be rolled out as planned.
“It is really unfortunate, but after extensive and comprehensive work and all of the issues raised, Councillors today voted to decline Strike it Out’s request based on the information we have so far, but we are open to further conversations about other initiatives in future.”
