Anne Salt has been a volunteer worker with the Friends of Willow Court and other committees in the Derwent Valley for the past 14 years. The Friends of Willow Court were set up by the Derwent Valley Council as a special committee under the Local Government Act. The Council has changed all their committees, or are in the process of assisting committees to move to a Incorporated body with both administration and financial support.

The Committees will be replaced by advisory bodies to the Council. The Friends of Willow Court have been working with the Willow Court History Group as we are both aligned ethically to present the site as a Tasmanian Heritage site that holds a significant place in our history and respect the site with due sensitivity for the past residents and staff.

We are disappointed one of the Derwent Valleys’ community volunteers has had to endure weeks of targeted legal threats from Portcullis Holdings. Justin Derksen was the secretary when the “Friends of Willow Court” was registered as a business and is currently standing as a candidate for the Derwent Valley Council.

The main part of the site is owned by the Derwent Valley Council and is leased to a number of business and groups including the Agrarian Kitchen, Derwent Valley Arts, and Portcullis Holdings.