Company to appeal Tas cable car rejection

by Ethan James, MSN News

Developers behind a contentious plan to build a cable car on Hobart’s rugged mountain intend to take their fight to the next level after council knocked the proposal back.

The Mount Wellington Cableway Company (MWCC) also wants to build new indoor and outdoor viewing facilities and a cafe and restaurant at the 1271-metre summit.

Hobart City Council voted against the plan at a lengthy meeting in late July.

MWCC chairman Chris Oldfield indicated on Wednesday the company would lodge an appeal against the decision with Tasmania’s Resource Management and Planning Appeals Tribunal (RMPAT).

“It’s our current intention that we will take it forward. We will launch an appeal with RMPAT hopefully (on Wednesday), that’s our intention,” he told Triple M radio.

An independent planning report advised council to reject the plan on 21 grounds, including that it would diminish the landmark’s tourism, recreational and cultural values.

About 72 per cent of a record 16,500 public submissions made to council were not in favour of the cable car.

Members of the island’s Aboriginal community say the project would scar the culturally significant landmark, which carries the Indigenous name kunanyi.

Read the full story here.

Media release – Residents Opposed to the Cable Car (ROCC), 11 August 2021

CABLE CAR APPEAL WILL PROLONG THE PAIN FOR ALL

Residents Opposed to the Cable Car (ROCC) have reacted with disappointment at the news the Mount Wellington Cableway Company (MWCC) will appeal the Hobart City Council’s refusal of a planning permit to build the cable car and its mass tourism precinct on kunanyi/Mt Wellington.

The appeal will cost a fortune. Not only will company shareholders again fork out for a desperate legal strategy, the community will be dragged through further uncertainty about the future of a much-loved icon and will be asked to fund its own engagement in the appeal.

“We respect the proponent’s right to appeal the council’s comprehensive refusal but are frustrated by its intransigence and belligerence around this toxic proposal. We are committed to the defense of the Mountain,” said Vica Bayley spokesperson for ROCC.

“This development was refused on 21 grounds based on expert planning advice and to succeed, the proponent must overturn all 21 grounds.

“Overturning all 21 grounds of refusal looks to be a tall order given most of those grounds go to the heart of the values of kunanyi and why it was protected or relate to the sheer scale this development.

“On top of that, everybody knows that the 21 technical grounds of refusal are just part of the reason this development should not proceed and there are other solid reasons that underpin the community’s opposition to the cable car.

“This includes the privatisation of publicly-owned and reserved land and the clear impact it would have on the Aboriginal cultural landscape and spiritual values of kunanyi.

Residents Opposed to the Cable Car will consider its options to join as a party to the appeal.

“This is a development that has been shown to impact on the many values of kunanyi, including its natural, cultural, amenity and tourism values. We’re saddened this sorry saga will continue, but defiant and committed to our role as a voice for the community.

“72% of the record number of representations received by the Hobart City Council objected to this development. This energy, expertise and love of kunanyi will ultimately prevail over a destructive and unnecessary mass tourism development.

Media release – Bob Brown Foundation, 11 August 2021

Bob Brown Foundation joins legal battle to defend kunanyi / Mt Wellington

BBF today announced it will apply to join and oppose any appeal brought by the Mt Wellington Cable Car company against the decision of Hobart City Council to reject the development.

“The Bob Brown Foundation will join the appeal because of its concern about the exploitation of public land for private profit, because of the horrific visual impact of the proposal, and because this development is offensive to Aboriginal Tasmanians. kunanyi / Mt Wellington is a place of immense beauty, it’s also an important conservation reserve in the Hobart region. A mega development like the cable car would destroy many of the ecological values which make the mountain unique,” said Bob Brown Foundation CEO Steven Chaffer.