TREVALLYN HOUSE SUBMISSION

 

FOR THE RECORD

From: Ray Norman <raynorman7250@gmail.com>
Date: Monday, 30 March 2026 at 1:01 pm
To: Mayor Matthew Garwood <matthew.garwood@launceston.tas.gov.au>, Cr. Hugh McKenzie <Hugh.Mckenzie@launceston.tas.gov.au>, Cr. Joe Pentridge <joe.pentridge@launceston.tas.gov.au>, Cr. Andrew Palmer <andrew.palmer@launceston.tas.gov.au>, Cr. Lindi McMahon <lindi.mcmahon@launceston.tas.gov.au>, Councillor Alan Harris <alan.harris@launceston.tas.gov.au>, Cr. Tim Walker <tim.walker@launceston.tas.gov.au>, Cr. Susie Cai <susie.cai@launceston.tas.gov.au>, Cr. Alex Britton <alex.britton@launceston.tas.gov.au>, Cr. Danny Gibson <danny.gibson@launceston.tas.gov.au>, Cr Krista Preece <krista.preece@launceston.tas.gov.au>, Cr Ross Marsden <ross.marsden@launceston.tas.gov.au>, Sam Johnson <Sam.Johnson@launceston.tas.gov.au>, Local Government Division <localgovernment@dpac.tas.gov.au>, The Premier <premier@dpac.tas.gov.au>, Minister Vincent <kerry.vincent@parliament.tas.gov.au>, Hon Madeleine Ogilvie <madeleine.ogilvie@parliament.tas.gov.au>, Minister Pearce <gavin.pearce@parliament.tas.gov.au>, Minister Ellis <felix.ellis@dpac.tas.gov.au>

Cc: Anita Dow <anita.dow@parliament.tas.gov.au>, Josh Willie <josh.willie@parliament.tas.gov.au>, GEORGE TOWN COUNCIL : <info@georgetown.tas.gov.au>, MEANDER VALLEY COUNCIL <mail@mvc.tas.gov.au>, WEST TAMAR COUNCIL MAYOR <cholmdahl.wtc@bigpond.com>, NORTHERN MIDLANDS COUNCIL <council@nmc.tas.gov.au>, CITY OF HOBART COUNCIL <coh@hobartcity.com.au>, NORTHERN TASMANIAN DEVELPMENT CORPORATION <admin@ntdc.org.au>, Rosemary Armitage <rosemary.armitage@parliament.tas.gov.au>, L’ton Chamber of Commerce <info@lcc.asn.au>, Greg Parkinson <tas0946@bigpond.com>, Jess Teesdale <jess.teesdale@taslabor.org.au>, I43-1 <institute43-1@bigpond.com>
Subject: Trevallyn House SUBMISSSION

ATTENTION: 

• All Councillors City of Launceston;
• Chelsea van Riet;
• Fintan Langan-Clarke;
• Minster Kerry Vincent;

Foreword:

This submission is made in the context of there being a further submission accompanied by an Expression of Interest anticipated and that being for an alternative/s to removing the building from its current location. A prompt response to this submission would be appreciated in order that any unforeseen matters can be, or that need to be, addressed in the further submission can be if they are drawn to our attention now.  Thank you!

.

PROGRESS = forward movement towards a destination.

STRATEGICALLY TOWARDS WHAT DESTINATION?

WITH = accompanied by

PRUDENCE = the quality of cautiousness.

STRATEGICALLY IN A HOUSING CRISIS HOW PROGRESSIVE 

OR CAUTIOUS IS IT DEMOLISH A DWELLING & POSSIBLY

CONSIGN THEV INVESTEDV RESOURCES TO LANDFIL?

THE TREVALLYNhouse

FEASIBLY, the resources invested in this building could be reconfigured to provide MICROaccommodation for 9 or 10 people. In a housing crisis it is social delinquency and fiscal folly NOT to interrogate the options and opportunities to deliver an outcome that fits the circumstance and pays attention to the housing crisis, and the need for housing that is clear and present. 

Moreover,IF ONcycled and resources from elsewhere were to be added then feasibly every last kilo of the resource in this structure could be strategically and economically ONcycled to possibly create a demonstration of a MACRO-CUM-MICRO community of autonomous ‘dwellings’ albeit as a consequence of decades of Council failing to maintain a community asset.

Council's management has a record of working on the premise that ‘ratepayers are not investors and do not need to make a profit’. That’s the premise that reportedly underpinned the Birchalls Building. While there is a modicum of truth in the ‘assertion’, ratepayers pay rates in order to receive SOCIALdividends and here with this ‘dwelling’ 

However, IF the BUREAUCRATIC door is slammed shut, and tightly, then the STATUSquo will prevail as might the dystopia it harbours. Nonetheless, the door might not be shut and IF so, either an Expression of Interest or submissions from interested parties might yet rest this house from what bears all the hallmarks of a bureaucracy’s dysfunctionalism – and arguably a dereliction of duty as well.

Questions arise regarding the veracity of the assertions made in the report to Councillors. 'In business and academe’ such assertions are characterised as ‘truth by assertion’ and once tested they typically fall over. At the most basic level IF Council lacks the business acumen to deliver a ‘dividend’ (final or social)this ‘home’ would feasibly fetch something in the order of $600K. That being so the fiscal dividends should NOT absorb into general revenue and the funds raised might well be put to work elsewhere – ideally relieving housing stress in the jurisdiction.

On the face of it this determination by Council poses serious questions for ratepayers and especially so given what appears to be forfeited for the seeming lack of strategic thinking that appears to leave ratepayers and HOMEseekers in less than a favourable position at a time such the present. Arguably, a significant factor in all this is Councils ongoing reluctance to employ an architect that would enable Council to work collaboratively and cooperatively in its placemaking towards better outcomes. 

In addition, the figures estimated for the cost of renovation and demolition needs to be interrogated as people in 'THE INDUSTRY' are saying that they are unrealistic and Council's record in such matters leaves to be desired. Also, there is a Community of Ownership & Interest (COI) that has apparently not been engaged with or taken into account in a transparent way. Within this community asset’s COI there are people eminently qualified to make meaningful and constructive contributions regarding this community asset’s (dwelling, etc.)status – given its values fiscal, social and cultural.

This structure is NOT RUBBISH albeit that the decision making might well be considered in that light!

BACKGROUNDING

THE TREVALLYNhouse

A HOUSE OWNED BY THE COMMUNITY AND MANAGED 

BY THE CITY OF LAUNCESTON COUNCIL

With the proposed demolition of this dwelling what:

• Social dividends or deficits does the decision deliver?
• Under SECTION 65 what 'professional advice' was on offer and supplied by whom and in what context?
• Purposeful strategic imperatives are in play relative to 'resource recovery" appropriate land use and cultural landscaping?
• Consideration has been given to 'the place's' Community of Ownership and Interest's values, obligations & rights in a 21st C context?

 https://www.realestate.com.au/property/my-property/details/15173236

The proposed demolition of this property is arguably an

outrageous and ill-informed proposition and especially 

so given the cultural, social, and fiscal outcomes it 

is ever likely to deliver

LINKS 

https://auditingplacedness.blogspot.com/

https://raynorman7250.blogspot.com/p/coi.html

WATCH THIS SPACE

Moriyama house is located in Ohta-ku, a residential area in the center of Tokyo dotted with single-family houses and midsize apartment blocks, placed orderly on a traditional urban pattern that preserves a typically Japanese atmosphere. Drawing inspiration from the extremely fragmented fabric of the capital – a reflection of its fast-paced growth –, the house reinvents the traditional concept of the Japanese dwelling by distributing, on a 290 square meter plot, a group of independent volumes that include the dwelling of the owner and, temporarily, five rental apartments.

SEE: https://tazmuze7250.blogspot.com/2024/09/blog-post.html

GO2 … https://tazmuze7250.blogspot.com/2025/07/container-housing.html

 GO2 … https://www.facebook.com/ContainerhousesKE/

GO2 … https://www.facebook.com/reel/963864119330771

googleCONTAINERhome LINKS

LINK

LINK ...  https://oncycling2025.blogspot.com/p/upcycled-contaiers.html

LINK

paradigm link

Yours sincerely, Ray Norman Polemicist, Cultural Producer,  Cultural Geographer, Researcher The lifestyle design enterprise and research network   PH: 0488 011 376  eMAIL: raynorman7250@gmail.com  Delamere Cres Trevallyn TAS 7250 WEBsites: http://www.raynorman7250.blogspot.com “A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.” Thomas Paine  “The standard you walk past is the standard you accept” David Morrison Consultant https://raynorman7250.blogspot.com/p/zingconsult.html   https://notrubbish.blogspot.com/ I​ acknowledge the First Peoples – the Traditional Owners of the lands where we live and work, and recognise their continuing connection to land, water and community. I pay respect to Elders – past, present and emerging – and acknowledge the important role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to play within the research zingHOUSEunlimited undertakes

THEwatcher [link]

 

 

AN APPLES AND BANANAS COMPARISON

MULLUMBIMBY AND LAUNCESTON HAVE SOME THING IN COMMON

Yes, Yes, Yes,..The Examiner (Launceston) is currently undergoing a significant restructuring as part of a broader business model shift by its owner, Australian Community Media (ACM).
Key details regarding the current and recent changes include:
• ... Move to Digital-First: ACM is transitioning its newspapers to a model focused on strong digital subscriptions during the week, with a focus on print editions only on Saturdays

• ... Closure of Local Printing: ACM closed the Launceston printing plant, which involved cutting 29 local jobs and moving production to Hobart.
• ... Owner Strategy: The publisher is implementing this restructuring, which is expected to continue in various forms over the next seven years.
• ... Note: In 2015, the newspaper also underwent a restructure that saw job cuts and a shift to a "NewsNow" editorial system

LETS SEE HOW THAT GOES AS AND WHEN

THE SUBSCRIBERS FLEE!!??

As some wise person has said... excellence is the unlimited

ability to improve the quality of what you have to offer!!!

Echo Editor <editor@echo.net.au>; Mullumbimby office … Phone: +61 2 6684 1777 … Fax: + 61 2 6684 1719 ... https://www.echo.net.au/contact-us/ ... The Echo newspaper published its first issue on 11 June 1986 largely in response to marijuana raids made by the New South Wales Police Force in valleys surrounding Mullumbimby. Shand and Lovejoy founded the newspaper as a civil rights watchdog due to news media refusing to report on aggressive and illegal actions made by police.It has become a local institution, the kind of which there is a need for more of! Notably the paper takes its critical commentary right up to where it cuts the deepest and they pay their bills – and more than survive! 

Excellence, that unlimited ability to improve the quality of what you have to offer is what maintains RELEVANCE and PROFITABILITY!!!

WATCH THIS SPACE

HOUSING MINDshift

Thinking of building a granny flat? How new rules might make it easier By Bailey Forbes ... Updated March 12 2026 - 4:36pm, first published March 11 2026 - 4:00pm

Plans to substantially increase the allowed size of granny flats have been praised by industry insiders, who say it will be a win for families, investors, and anybody looking for a home.

Minister for Housing and Planning Kerry Vincent announced work was underway to increase the allowable size of granny flats from 60 square metres to 90 square metres, saying it will provide more options for those looking for a one- or two-bedroom house.

Jason Zadow of Tiny Homes Tasmania. Picture by Craig George

He described the move as "low-hanging fruit" for increasing the medium-density housing stock.

"By expanding this size, we can create more diverse housing stock, giving Tasmanians greater options for where they can live," Mr Vincent said.

Launceston-based business Tiny Homes owner Jason Zadow, who specialises in building detached single- to three-bedroom homes, said one of the company's most popular models was the 70 square metre dwelling.

Previously, customers bought that model to live in as a primary residence - now they can place them in their backyard.

"I believe we will see entire families merging with others onto the same title as a result of this initiative," Mr Zadow said.

Jason Zadow of Tiny Homes Tasmania. Picture by Craig George

"Many people simply can't afford to buy land, and build-it's just too much of a stretch.

"By eliminating the cost of land, this offers families a practical pathway to escape the rental market and secure a place of their own."

Mr Zadow said he suspected customers who were previously put off by the limitations of the smaller 60m2 flats would be interested in the larger ones.

He said the proposed changes will allow the company to build even bigger homes.

Planning Institute Tasmania branch president Mick Purves said he was pleased with the way the reform had been handled and expects the community reception to be positive and for the changes to be adopted.

He flagged a concern that homeowners will now push for flats bigger than 90 square metres to be legislated, as people typically like to get granny flats as big as possible.

Harcourts Launceston director Jeremy Wilkinson. Phillip Biggs

'It can only be good'. Harcourts real estate agent Jeremy Wilkinson said properties with granny flats are a big business and regularly attract investors, drawing huge sales numbers.

"Let's say it's a standard three-bedroom house in Newnham, and they've got a granny flat out the back," he said.

"A three-bedroom house might rent right now in today's market, if it's neat and tidy, at $550 a week, and say you've got a two-bedroom granny flat out the back, and that rents for $350, maybe even $400 bucks a week.

"There's $900 a week of income coming in for that property."

It does attract investors. They say, 'that's probably worth it'.

- Real estate agent Jeremy Wilkinson. Mr Wilkinson said properties with two-bedroom granny flats regularly fetch $800,000 to $900,000.

He echoed Mr Zadow's experience that granny flats are becoming more popular, with homeowners looking for comfortable places to place parents, children, and to later on earn rental income.

Also becoming more common is parents buying larger granny flats for their children so they can gain independence while saving for their first home.

"I think it's a good thing, it can only be good," Mr Wilkinson said.

"This could effectively free up entire rental properties, potentially relieving some of the pressure on the rental market in the long run," Mr Zadow said

LANDliteracy A PERSPECTIVE

 

SEE ALSO ... https://theagency7250.blogspot.com/2026/03/landliteracy.

"The best time to plant a tree is 

always twenty years ago.

And the second-best time 

is always now." 

THEwatcher

LANDliteracy’ succinctly describes the ability to read the land for the purpose of assessing its ability to offer sustenance and shelter. 

Clearly, if more people could detect the early signs of land degradation this would foster more affective holistic approaches to designing LANDliteracy and LANDuse strategies in both urban and rural areas. 

Likewise, social and political responses to land custodianship and land stewardship would be enhanced if there were a higher levels of LANDliteracy – particularly so in urban areas.

LANDliteracy can be understood as one's ability to read and appreciate the signs of health in a landscape. By implication, this definition also implies the ability to read the signs of ill-health in a landscape. Being 'land literate' is a reason for including ‘art’ in the 'LANDliteracy equation'.

LANDuse is invariably dominated by humanity's ability to read a landscapes' capacity to fulfil the needs of individuals and groups and ultimately a network of groups. What is looked for in a 'place' is its capacity to meet humanity's four imperatives and the extent to which a CULTURALlandscape to  sustain life and a cultural reality within a network of interdependent cultural realities. 

LANDuse cannot afford to be anything that depletes a landscape and compromises any lifeform's capacity sustain itself within it. What is true for any one is true of all including humanity despite the myth that humans are the apex predator. 

Humans are considered to be the ultimate, apex predator due to advanced intelligence, tool-making, and adaptability, allowing them to dominate all ecosystems. Unlike specialised predators, humans utilisbeste technology to override environmental limits, influencing food webs, causing extinctions, and functioning as hyper-apex predators.

Thus knowing what needs to be known about a place's resources is fundamental. As it turns out that it is those who know this best are those who are directly seeking the sustenance and shelter within a place. Moreover, in order to 'know' a place's occupants need to be literate and LANDliterate.

Ideally LANDliteracy involves a community's collaborative and cooperative effort to read a place's 'placedness' albeit that some individuals and groups will have specialist knowledge – and indeed ancillary 'readers' may well be enlisted from outside.

LINK ...https://tazmuze7250.blogspot.com/p/land-literacy.html

LINK ...https://landliteracy.blogspot.com/

LINK ...https://redtreetasmania.blogspot.com/

LINK ... https://multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/mm0795.08.html

Links [ 1 ] - [ 2 ] - [ 3 ]

Typically LANDcare launches projects that allows members to submit Expressions of Interest (EOIs) outlining projects they want to deliver - from habitat restoration to weed control, dam improvements and community education. Once approved, these projects are listed on a website, ready to be matched with grants, partnerships, or new funding opportunities. It’s an effective system that helps small ideas grow into fully funded, on-ground outcomes, while also enabling members to showcase their projects and connect with others interested in similar initiatives. While all such projects are laudable they compete for funding with some (many?) falling by the wayside.

LANDlieracy might well fall outside such funded projects in that, at their best, they inform day to day LANDuse initiatives and oftentimes involve contesting the purposefulness of authority funded, TOPdown, ideologically driven, initiative that all too often serve the maintenance of the investment oriented status quo.

LANDlieracy arguably functions best, or better, when structured rhizomatically given that under such modelling there are multiple engagement and disengagement points. Rhizomatic refers to a non-hierarchical, interconnected network structure that allows any point to connect to any other, operating without a central authority or linear, top-down organisation. Coined by philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, it describes systems that grow horizontally, similar to roots like bamboo, asparagus, and ginger, emphasising multiplicity, change, and adaptability.

In LANDliteracy's case it refers to to 'placedness'and ultimately to aCULTURALlandscaping.

That is, where people belong to places rather than in the INVESTMENTparadigm being where 'place ownership' and fiscal dividends are paramount. LANDliteracy's speaks of social and cultural dividends!

KERALA: Geographically a leader in sustainable land use management & LANDliteracy

Resource mapping Kerala's most innovative development effort is the People's Resource Mapping Program, which mobilizes villagers to inventory their resources on maps. These homemade maps are combined with scientific maps to guide environmentally sound local planning discussions of the long-term consequences and short-term gains of resource use. KSSP activists see the project as a logical extension of the total literacy campaign: the People's Resource Mapping Program is an attempt to create land literacy.

Because they see poverty and inequality as threats to sustainability, activists are suspicious of large-scale central plans that are drawn up in the national and state capitals. They put their faith in local landowners, arguing that they know area resources best and are better able to judge which land-use practices or inputs will improve land productivity. Collective action of villagers, with input from scientists, the activists contend, offers the best hope for promoting socially and ecologically sustainable land-use practices.... continued

LINK ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNEzWUhe9r8

LINK. .https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendrocalamus_giganteus

VIDEO ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZjy-eqwjVU

KERALA MODELLING

LAND REFORM IN KERALA CLICK HERE

HISTORY OF KERALA CLICK HERE & HERE

VIDEOS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NotryFowKU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJbftc_R3-Y 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq1uL9R_w5E 

END NOTE: While political parties often take credit for the 'Kerala Model,' the state's success actually stems from a multi-layered history. Pre-independence, the Maharajas of Travancore were visionaries who institutionalized free education and higher learning. Christian missionaries later expanded this by building a robust network of schools and hospitals. Post-independence, it was 'Gulf Money,' rather than local industry, that fuelled prosperity. One could argue that without the safety net of the Indian Union, Kerala’s focus on welfare spending over industrial growth would have rendered the state’s economy unsustainable, like many other communist countries.

EXAMPLE OF RESOURCE INTERROGATION

LINKS [ 1 ] - [ 2 ]

https://bananasnow.blogspot.com/2026/03/companion-cropping.html

https://bananasnow.blogspot.com/p/zingbananaponx.html

https://theagency7250.blogspot.com/2026/02/proposition-58.html

LINK

Authors Tandra Vale & Ray Norman

https://www.facebook.com/groups/4185231235021806

BACKGROUND LINKS 

[ A ] 

[ 1 ] - [ 2 ] - [ 3 ] - [ 4 ] - [ 5 ] 

[ 6 ] - [ 7 ] - [ 8 ] - [ 9 ] - [ 10 ] 

SEE https://raynorman7250.blogspot.com/p/landliteracy-links.html

VIDEO ... https://www.facebook.com/reel/2052097605537361

A LINK ... https://www.facebook.com/reel/2376786569499373