An open letter to The Minister for Planning, Roger Jaensch and the Shadow Minister for Planning, Anita Dow
Dear Minister,
On Friday the 20 November 2020, a public meeting was held at the Wynyard RSL. There were 76 participants including four speakers – Anita Dow MP, Burnie Councillor Ken Dorsey, Councillor Darren Fairbrother, Craig Garland, Sophie Underwood (PMAT) and Ulverstone Councillor John Beswick, Councillor Andrea Courtney.
The meeting focused on concerns regarding the Standards for Residential Development in the General Residential Zone (RDGRZ). It was encouraging that so many people attended on a Friday evening for such a supposedly dry subject. The attendance and participation demonstrated the strength of public opinion and the many concerns that people have regarding the need for community participation on this issue.
It was found that many people are dissatisfied with several aspects of the Interim Planning Scheme that will soon be enshrined in the state-wide Tasmanian Planning Scheme. A major failure of the Scheme is the limited right of appeal to decisions taken by councils’ planning departments. This specifically concerns the threshold between a development application being an acceptable solution and a discretionary decision by councillors. The meeting expressed this as a sense of a loss of agency along with the loss of democratic representation by their elected officials.
I would like to take this opportunity to pass on to you the points raised, and the feelings expressed:
• The meeting calls on the Minister for Planning and local member for Braddon, Roger Jaensch, to listen and respond to community concerns regarding the RDGRZ. The meeting stated that the current standards have led to confusion and anxiety in our communities.
• The meeting agrees that the Tasmanian Planning Commission, Local Government Association of Tasmania, and the Resource Management and Planning Appeals Tribunal have also raised concerns regarding the standards for the RDGRZ.
• The meeting requests that the minister instructs the Tasmanian Planning Commission to urgently undertake a review to improve the residential standards of the RDGRZ in order to better reflect community expectations with regard to, but not confined to:
a. overshadowing;
b. loss of privacy;
c. solar access;
d. height;
e. private open space;
f. site coverage;
g. and access to appeal.
• The meeting calls on the Waratah Wynyard Council to ensure that the Local Provisions Schedule, as it applies to the Tasmanian Planning Scheme, holds public information sessions to inform the public about the impending changes and their meaning.
• The meeting acknowledges that the Major Projects legislation, through amendments to the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993, has now passed both houses. However, the meeting calls on the Minister and the Shadow Minister for Planning, Anita Dow, to insert rights of appeal into the Major Projects legislation.
In addition to the formal points raised above, there was deep concern regarding the perception that the balance in the Planning Scheme is distinctly on the side of the developer, with little or no recourse to appeal applications that the community feels are not beneficial.
After the presentations, questions were invited. During this part of the meeting, it was noted with some consternation that the Tasmanian Planning Scheme had not been updated with the latest information. For example, the most up to date coastal erosion and inundation reports have not been made available despite several requests by the council to the state government. Without the latest information it has to be questioned how the community can have confidence in the standards applied by the Tasmanian Planning Scheme.
It is further noted that the meeting was highly disappointed by the way the government had failed to hold public meetings regarding the Major Projects legislation owing to COVID-19. This resulted in little public awareness of the passage of the bill let alone the ability to comment or oppose it. It was also regrettable that the Opposition proposed, but later abandoned, essential amendments that would have addressed major concerns within the bill.
An overwhelming sentiment from the meeting was that Tasmania is endowed with many assets, notably its environmental capital. However, the increasing influence of developers and their successful applications is destroying many of these assets. It is considered that the balance in planning approvals has swung too far in favour of the developer. The meeting also concluded that the Planning Scheme is allowing rights to developers that are not balanced by the rights to oppose them by the public.
A major conclusion is that community is becoming increasingly aware of the valuable environment in which they live. They believe that ‘progress’ can still occur without the destruction of the natural environment. Access to undeveloped open spaces, even in an urban environment, are considered essential to the physical and mental health of our diverse communities. Developments that restrict access to light and air are not only injurious to existing home owners but to all those who enjoy the space.
Lastly, the community feels strongly that their elected representatives are not able to adequately represent them, and that those who have the financial resources and influence are dominant. It is strongly hoped that adequate planning safeguards are approved on a bipartisan basis so that we can maintain the necessary confidence in our elected representatives. It is also expected that any failure to do so will become a key point in voters’ considerations at the next election.
Yours sincerely
Nicholas Higgins Susan Robertson Danny Crothers Jo Crothers Katie McGuiness Rodney McGuiness Maree Jenkins Wendy Boyle Keith Boyle Evelyn Ballot Peter Lawrence Rose Farrell Pamela Rodwell Bruce Cameron Robyn Cameron Dr Brenton Hosking Rees Campbell Mike Buky Corey Speers
