00:00City Park is steadily returning to its former glory as several construction projects wrap up.
00:09The Children's Jubilee Fountain, which was removed early 2024 for a major restoration project, is
00:16being reinstalled. The Albert Hall is set to reopen after the Eastern Wing was redeveloped and the
00:22chain-link fence around the John Hart Conservatory is due to be removed in the coming weeks.
00:26Let's take a sneak peek at what's been happening behind the scenes.
00:30We've had some issues with cracking in the building. The roof was starting to move kind of this way,
00:37and so we saw the windows bowing and saw the cracking going out this way. So what we've done
00:42is tied everything back together. We've introduced some drainage to get the moisture out of the
00:47building and then just done some general cosmetic refurbs. New drainage, we've got new glass,
00:51so everything matches again. We've refurbed all the windows, we've repainted and done some additional
00:57structural steel, new roofing and new paint. So re-rendered the whole building and changed up the
01:06colour scheme a little bit to make it a bit more fresh with permission from Heritage. It'll be very
01:11similar. We've obviously got the changes to the colour scheme, but Dennis works in the Conservatory
01:16for my Parks Department. So he'll be changing up some things inside with how the layout is and the
01:21plans and making it look fresher. Will the mannequin statue still be here? He's coming back. He's been
01:27locked away safely so that he can come back into his proud spot. So all things going well, we should
01:34have practical completion next week and that will allow the Parks team to come back through and that
01:40will take them a few weeks. So fingers crossed November. I think that the way in which this council is
01:45prioritised, it's building asset management plan. It's something that we're reviewing at the moment.
01:50We're really keen to see how we can continue to take what we've been the custodians of for hundreds
01:56of years, in terms of our buildings and our natural heritage as well, and really just ensuring that
02:03that stays up for another hundred years. So yeah, it's been a real priority for this council to ensure
02:08that we do the best that we can and continue to work. We don't want to have to do big restoration
02:13pieces all the time. We don't want to have to be doing playgrounds from scratch and taking them
02:18out and letting them wear down beyond their usable life. So it's really important for us to be
02:24doing the best that we can with what we've got and how we look after our buildings. And this is an
02:29absolutely awesome example. Even just the freshness of the paint and the new life that's been given in
02:34here. If somebody hasn't been for a long time or someone who's never been, there's a real statement to
02:39this piece. Even the refurbishment of the glass and the story that comes with that and the roof,
02:43the Jubilee Fountain, the next project with being the City Park Playground, the opening of the Albert
02:50Hall in October. It's a really exciting time at the City of Launceston. We're a council that wants to get
02:54stuff done and we're ticking those things off and kicking guns. The building was closed in March to
03:01allow for a $1 million restoration. This included things like reinforcing and stabilising the foundations
03:08and its walls, repairing damage to the overall structure and of course, giving it a fresh
03:12lick of paint. Not necessarily very sexy work, but definitely necessary. My biggest personal
03:19relationship is when Carols comes to the park and you use this to get dressed in and I always remember
03:24having seen Carols in the park and always wanted to have been up on that stage. We got that opportunity
03:29in 2014 for the first time and the stage just being set up here and coming in here getting changed and
03:35that's probably my biggest personal connection to this as a venue and as a statement piece,
03:43but we know that the community has all sorts of different memories associated with different
03:47things and we look forward to, whilst still being really proud of that nostalgia, but also looking
03:51forward to pushing forward and making new memories, whether that's through different facilities here
03:55in the park or around the municipality. We've had a great team working on this. They're all very passionate
04:00individuals when it comes to heritage work and kind of, I guess, old buildings have a way of throwing
04:05problems at you, but nothing's been too hard to fix. Everyone's just gotten in and done what they need
04:09to do and I think we've got a great result from it. Built in 1932, the Conservatory's construction was
04:16funded through the bequest of John Hart, who left the money for the beautification of the city.
04:22When it opened, it was met with some mixed reviews from the public, partly due to its construction
04:27happening at a time of extreme economic hardship. However, in the years since, it has become a staple
04:33feature of City Park and many Launceston residents have fond memories of it.
