Article
UTAS Lodges Planning Scheme Amendment for Sandy Bay Project
Media release – UTAS, 6 December 2021
Reimagined vision for the future of Sandy Bay campus lodged with City of Hobart
The masterplan process for the University of Tasmania’s Sandy Bay campus takes a step forward today with the submission to City of Hobart of a Planning Scheme Amendment.
The final masterplan submission comes after six months of design and extensive engagement with stakeholders and community.
Four rounds of community engagement were held with each providing feedback on and contributing to the development of the masterplan.
Public engagement in the process has been high and concluded on December 1. The latest figures show 4462 visits to the project website (https://www.reimaginesandybay.com.au),1021 downloads of the masterplan, 366 open house participants, 103 face-to-face focus groups and 11 online workshops.
The community consultation has created a vision for the future of the Sandy Bay Site which will include protected bushland, public space, five precincts responding to the different character of parts of the site, a variety of housing uses (including attainable housing), and sporting and cultural facilities.
The proposal holds the promise to contribute to the easing of Hobart’s housing undersupply by providing 2700 diverse new dwellings and more broadly aims to demonstrate significant leadership in sustainable urban renewal.
The Planning Scheme Amendment will be assessed by the City of Hobart and will include a public exhibition and submission phase sometime in 2022, which will provide full transparency of all the details of the plans and the opportunity further public consultation.
Michael Bailey, Chief Executive Officer, Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
“The future development of Sandy Bay provides the opportunity for a range of benefits in terms of social and economic impact that will last for decades. It is a very exciting proposal and it is good to see the university thinking about elements such as business incubators to support the next generation of enterprise for southern Tasmania.”
Rebecca Ellston, Executive Director, Property Council of Australia (Tasmania)
“Given our fast-growing population and housing affordability challenges, we should be doing everything we can to support investment in more housing diversity and choices for Tasmanians. We need to provide a combination of options that people from all walks of life want, with a mix of options, including social and affordable. The university has a real opportunity to do something great with this and put Tasmania on the national map with a mixed use, highly sustainable model.”
Reimagine Sandy Bay Engagement Summary
A range of engagement methods were adopted for Engagement 1 to ensure accessibility and input from a wide stakeholder group, including an advertisement in the Hobart Observer that reached 24,600 people, internal email communications through the University reaching 45,794 people, a website that was accessed 782 times, Open Houses that were attended by 128 people, and focus groups and face-to-face meetings with 24 stakeholder groups. Stakeholder groups had a wide reach and included groups such as the City of Hobart CEO and elected members, Riawunna, Members of the House of Assembly, Tasmanian Property Council, the Bicycle Network and infrastructure providers, as well as the open sessions with the community.
Most desired community outcomes:
– Adaptive re-use of existing campus buildings and the sports precinct
– Continued public accessibility
– Protection and enhancement of the Site’s natural assets
– Redevelopment that is sensitive to the Site and local context
– Provision of diverse housing options
– Community facilities and amenity.
Strongest criticisms received were around the relocation of the campus itself, as well as concern for high density infill development. Social and attainable housing was a passionate topic, but opinions were divisive amongst participants.
What people most valued about the site were its natural assets, open and recreational spaces, as well as sporting facilities, with strong memories attached to the site and some of the existing campus buildings.
The engagement findings have now informed the final Guiding Principles, with the next round of engagement seeking feedback on an emerging Shared Vision.