QUEANBEYAN’S Mayor Tim Overall has taken to facebook to urge his council to approve plans for a long awaited Queanbeyan cinema.
In a lengthy post to the “Cinemas for Queanbeyan : Joint Venture” page he had this to say:
Despite some inaccurate claims currently circulating in relation to the need for even more analysis of this cinema proposal, Councillors and Staff have held three Workshops on the matter – on the 2nd April, 21 May and 11 June – and have examined all aspects in great detail including the 20 year financial projections and financial sensitivity.
The Old Nursery Site is the only financially viable site in Queanbeyan’s CBD and is considered the ideal site by the Cinema Operator – an entity with some 15 years of expertise in the industry. The site adjoins the long stay carpark, to be upgraded with the new bus interchange and new taxi rank in late 2014, is within 100m of Riverside Plaza and K Mart, a short stroll to restaurants, coffee shops and hotels, and is immediately opposite the planned River Precinct/Collett St Upgrade Project with a second footbridge across the river to be constructed in 2015. Further, this site has very limited other development potential being in the flood zone where residential development is not permitted – the cinema complex is being designed to be elevated above the 1:100 year flood level.
If Council makes the same mistake that has been made in the past with procrastination and the artificial construction of reasons why it should be delayed/held off/examined further, it will be yet another opportunity that passes our city by.
The last time Council received such a clearly defined proposition was 18 years ago – and that failed to eventuate because of unwarranted delays and onerous requirements with the operators eventually rescinding the project. Let’s ensure this does not happen again.
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