A housing development on Hobart’s eastern shore for 2,500 homes, described by council as “the most significant development in Australia”, has hit a major hurdle but could still proceed with help from the state’s planning minister.
Key points:
- Droughty Point covers around 240 hectares and is owned by two families
- The Skylands development would result in 2,500 new homes in six suburbs
- Clarence City Council has rejected a bid to allow developers to build suburbs further up the hillside
The Skylands development at Droughty Point has been described by council officers as transformative “in terms of its potential to impact on the character of a capital city”.
The project is unusual in that it is a significant parcel of undeveloped land — about 240 hectares — and close to the CBD of a capital city. It is about a 25-minute drive to Hobart’s city centre.
The land is privately owned by the Carr and Lilly families, who engaged urban design firm DPZ to come up with the development design.
The proponents wanted the Clarence City Council to lift a restriction on building — known as the urban growth boundary — from 70 metres up the hillside to 110 metres, but that has been knocked back at a council meeting on Monday night.
Most submissions opposed
A council report said the urban growth boundary was set at 70 metres partly for aesthetic reasons but also because of the limits of reservoir water at the time.
In the Skylands master plan, 700 houses — covering 58 hectares — would…
