After community backlash to a plan to move Burnie's courthouse to the outskirts of town, the Tasmanian government has revealed two new proposed CBD sites — including one next door to a childcare centre.
The current magistrate and supreme court complex in Alexander Street is not fit for purpose and needs significant upgrades, the Department of Justice has said.
The new potential sites are a complex at 39-41 Alexander Street and 54-56 Mount Street, 100-106 Wilson Street and a third site that remains confidential at the request of the proponent.
The site in Wilson Street is right next door to a childcare centre.
State Deputy Opposition Leader and former Burnie mayor Anita Dow said that needed to be taken into consideration.
"The weaknesses of the sites need to be weighed up and there needs to be thorough and extensive public consultation," she said.
"It's been almost two years that this saga has been dragging on for the Burnie community."
The neighbouring childcare centre declined to comment when contacted by the ABC.
Calls to keep courthouse in CBD
In March, an Expression of Interest (EOI) process was opened to identify potential sites, after significant community backlash over the state government's decision to move the courthouse to the University of Tasmania's old Cradle Coast campus on Mooreville Road in Burnie.
That choice was slammed as it was out of town, near a school and would present significant issues for people who relied on public transport.
Business Northwest president Ian Jones said he was a strong advocate for keeping the courthouse in the CBD.
"There's 50,000 footfall going through the current court facility, and if you take all those people out into the suburbs, it has an impact not just on the retail and the hospitality, but it has an impact on the fabric of the city.
"We've got large, flat blocks, right in the middle of the city, and we need to keep this development in the CBD."
Mr Jones said both of the disclosed sites would work.
"The site on Wilson Street — that's a couple of old buildings, one that hasn't been used for many years and it's a good site, it's right across the road from the police station so very handy in that regard," he said.
"The second site up in Alexander Street goes through the block from Alexander Street to Mount Street and it's the old Advocate Newspaper site and their newer building on the other side, they're both very good sites, very well located."
Law Society of Tasmania president Simon Gates said both of the announced sites were a better choice than Mooreville Road.
"From an access-to-justice perspective, a new court facility in the Burnie CBD is always going to be a preferred option," he said.
"The Law Society's position has always been that we want the best site possible … having the court in the CBD, which is where all the bus routes terminate currently, means it'll be much easier for people to access the court."
Cost of sites not assessed yet
The Department of Justice says it will now work with the proponents to determine the final project scope, assess the potential reuse of existing buildings, and prepare a cost estimate for the development of each site.
The department will then assess the proposals, compared to the Mooreville Road site.
"It's obviously a viable option for the government … but when you have two big blocks of land in the middle of the city, I don't think Mooreville Road will prevail," Mr Jones said.
The Labor Party is calling for a community meeting to be held before a site is picked.
"The government needs to rule out the Mooreville Road site altogether, the residents in that area don't want it there too … there's no support in the community for it being there."
