In the Derwent Valley Council’s Agenda this last week there is a note to amend the decision made on the 20 June 2019 to remove reference to Frascati House and only include the Barracks in the lease arrangement with Salamanca Art on behalf of the Derwent Valley Arts Group. http://www.derwentvalley.tas.gov.au/webdata/resources/minutesAgendas/19%20March%202020%20-%20Council%20Agenda.pdf Item 10.12
The Derwent Valley Council opened up an expression of interest process to off load the remaining sections of the hospital under their management. There were a number of groups who expressed an interest in the site at the time and within the allotted time period. There was also one successful applicant who was entertained outside of the expression of interest period. Shortly after the announcements of successful applicants the General Manager of the Derwent Valley Council instigated a Probity Investigation into the tender process for the Sale or Lease of Willow Court with a very narrow brief of “examination of the decision by the Council to entertain unsolicited proposals after the closure of the EOI process”.
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The site owners have had a long history of offering the assets to business and groups who have had ideas, but in many cases, without due diligence these great ideas have failed or never got off the ground, so the property has returned back to the DVC often in a much worse state. This leaves the rate payers of the Derwent Valley to pick up the tab.
Works have not started in the Rum Distillery which is the remaining property offered for lease. While the locks have been changed there isn’t any visible work in the area previously approved for work by the Derwent Valley Council in May 2019.
