TMAG development frustration

MJ Latham

IT continues to frustrate. The Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery, as part of a $30mill project, are preparing under their own State auspice a proposal that seriously requires a project-specific whole-of-community approach to the character of the Dunn Place area.

The Waterfront Authority and TMAG acknowledge this strategically, culturally and naturally very rich part of Hobart yet it appears that TMAG are having to draw their own possibly quite pure conclusions using their own information resources, including that of the Authority.

Poor service it seems.

It is unfortunate, perhaps reprehensible, that the Authority hasn’t pre-established clear character-of-place guidelines as a forthright means of assisting the public, TMAG and all development-control stakeholders to make optimum development decisions with minimum argument, conservation reassessment, confusion, resubmission, public expense, heavyweight persuasion and mistake.

Do they not have enough money? How do neighbouring stakeholders for instance discuss the pros and cons or consider complementary development of their own without an agreed notion for the area. This relates to the precious user-interface initiatives of the likes of small fish-punt operators and giant hotel owners. It’s a kind of undefined ‘order’.

In a practical well intended world this is no disaster but it seems far from best practice. It leaves developers a bit lost. It leaves Hobart City Council and Tassy vulnerable to second-rate and/or pre-empted development that looks good enough to get by even an un-whitewashed public but in fact has closed the door on far greater development and social opportunity.

Generally people may see this area as simply a rectangular carpark and streets. Anything will do, but no; the initiated know that it’s topographical location and underlying archaeologies and landscape offer so very much to Hobart CBD and the Waterfront.

MJ Latham
debox@bigblue.net.au