Tasmania’s planning tribunal says it will accept an amended kunanyi/Mount Wellington cableway development proposal that reduces the scope of the project when considering an appeal against council’s rejection of the original plan.
Key points:
- The Resource Management and Planning Appeals Tribunal says it will accept an amended cable car proposal when it deals with an appeal relating to the project
- It says the amended proposal may “narrow the issues” between all parties
- The cableway company will not have to submit a brand new development application and start the whole council approval process again
In July, Hobart City Council voted to reject the original development application after an independent planning report recommended it be refused on 21 grounds because it would diminish the tourism, recreational, cultural and landscape values of the mountain.
A further nine reasons for refusal of the development were later added.
The Mount Wellington Cableway Company (MWCC) then lodged an appeal against the council’s decision with the Resource Management and Planning Appeals Tribunal (RMPAT) two weeks later, in line with the state’s planning laws.
However, last month, the company submitted a revised proposal, which its chairman, Chris Oldfield, said would reduce the size of the pinnacle centre at the mountain’s summit by about 40 per cent, a decision Mr Oldfield said was based on community feedback.
The original proposal for the cable car included three towers and a base station in South Hobart, along with a restaurant, cafe and amphitheatre at the mountain’s summit.
In the revised proposal, the company said it would reduce the cableway’s operation to daylight hours, reduce the number of passengers in each cabin, and scrap plans for the restaurant.
The amendments were resubmitted to the tribunal, which was required to determine whether it would accept the revised proposal.
In a ruling on Friday, the tribunal said it would accept the amended development proposal for consideration in the appeal.
“The tribunal accepts that the proposed amendments depict a proposal that is a reduction in the scale and intensity when compared to the original proposal,” the decision read.
“While it is unlikely that the changes would result in a resolution of the appeal, the tribunal is satisfied that the changes may address some of the grounds of appeal, and may narrow the issues in dispute between the parties.
“The tribunal is satisfied that the proposed changes do not produce a development so substantially different from the original application so as to constitute a new development.”
A date for the appeal to be heard by the tribunal is yet to be set.
