Other Neck bid rejected
AN alternative location for the controversial Bruny Island Neck carpark was rejected by authorities, who found the original site would leave a “minimal footprint”.
Photos of the new view over Adventure Bay from the iconic Truganini Lookout have sparked fierce debate on the visual impact of the 24-space carpark, which reopened this week.
A Kingborough Council planning document shows a community submission suggested the location of the carpark be reconsidered. This was knocked back by planners in consultation with the Parks and Wildlife Service.
In the only submission received on the project, the group argued a new 400m walking track planned for the area meant the carpark could be moved.
“It is possible that this provides an opportunity to provide another parking area for sightseeing in a less restricted and environmentally sensitive area,” the submission argued.
Planners responded that the new track had been taken into consideration in discussions with Parks and Wildlife.
They recommended the council approve the proposal at a special meeting in May.
The carpark was considered to have met a range of standards imposed on it, including the need to fit in with “the particular size, shape, contours or slope of the land and minimise the extent of cut and fill”.
“The location takes into account the site topography, and the need for the carpark to be next to the adjacent Parks and Wildlife visitor facilities,” the council report notes.
Kingborough’s Bruny Island Advisory Committee chairman Michael Percey said he was confident all options had been considered by the Department of State Growth.
“Maybe there were no other options ... over time when a bit of growth comes back, there will be less of an impact one would hope,” Mr Percey said.
Government MP Nic Street defended the makeover, de- claring the work had remedied a “death trap”.
Mr Street said the recently completed work was the product of extensive consultation.
“The facts are the current situation was a death trap in waiting and we weren’t going to sit around waiting for a serious accident to happen before taking action,” he said.
“I accept that not everyone will be happy with the changes, but, on any fair-minded assessment, they are both balanced and necessary.”
But the work continued to spark debate. Popular Tasmanian Instagrammer Jason Futrill said many visitors sought out the Neck for photography.
“We should be protecting our iconic locations and state tourism assets rather than ruining them with ugly developments like this,” he said.
Greens spokeswoman Rosalie Woodruff said Tasmania’s wilderness areas were under threat from State Government tourism policies.
A Department of State Growth spokesman said: “Given the very challenging topography of the site and the constraints of nesting habitat for little penguins and shorttailed shearwaters, the carpark was designed to be large enough to cope with normal visitor demand and small enough to minimise impacts.”