Housing bid sinks

A 20-DWELLING development comprising twoand three-storey houses received hundreds of objections from ratepayers and was rejected by Hobart City Council with councillors unanimously slamming the “over-thetop” plans.

HOBART City Council has rejected plans for a Sandy Bay housing development that Alderman Marti Zucco claimed was the worst project he had seen in 30 years.

The 20-dwelling development at Enterprise Rd was recommended for rejection by planning officers because of concerns over traffic.

The council had received 213 representations objecting to the proposal, which included a mixture of two- and threelevel houses.

Those objecting said they were concerned about the high density development which would “significantly alter the nature of housing in Enterprise Rd and surrounding streets”.

It was the second time the applicant had tried to get a development application through council. A similar application was withdrawn in October 2020 after 123 people objected to the development. The council last night unanimously rejected the proposal.

Alderman Zucco said he was a pro-development elected member who has always pushed the barrow of increasing density.

“When you get down to the nitty gritty of the planning scheme and the site … it’s way overdevelopment of the site,” he said.

Alderman Simon Behrakis said while he too preferred to be pro-development, he found these plans to be “completely over the top”.

The site is a large, steeply sloping vacant lot within the council’s general residential zone.

The council raised questions about the accuracy of some of the data provided but was unable to ascertain additional information because the applicant refusing an extension of time for discussion.

Speaking at the special planning committee, the applicant, Brian Richardson, expressed frustration at how long council officers had taken to provide information on the application, which was why they refused to grant an extension of time for discussion.

“This development proposal has taken nearly three years to go through the process,” Mr Richardson said.

“This is the second application as the first was withdrawn by the developer on advice of the council and we’ve come up with a second design.

“(We have) been held up by council staff.”

Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds said the plans had caused a lot of angst for neighbours and she believed the site has the wrong zoning.