Cable car zoning snag flagged as opponents say proposal is tourism, not public transport

The Mount Wellington Cableway Company may have hit another hurdle in its bid to build a cable car.

Mount Wellington Cableway Company CEO Adrian Bold at the site of the proposed base station in Wellington Park. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE

THE Mount Wellington Cableway Company may have hit another hurdle in its bid to build a cable car with opponents saying the proposal falls foul of the Wellington Park Management Plan.

Residents Opposed to the Cable Car spokesman Ted Cutlan says the management plan for Wellington Park does not allow for a tourism operation to be developed on land within the Recreation Zone.

The cable car base station is to be built within the zone and house the cableway motor room, backup generator, loading bay and service utilities as well as a ticket office, bike hire and staff facilities.

Residents Opposed to the Cable Car spokesman Ted Cutlan said the Government was “trying anything they can” to get around the new hurdle. Picture: MATHEW FARRELL

“That means if they want to go ahead with that, apart from all the issues with access to council land, they need to change the management plan to allow this development, which could take up to year,” Mr Cutlan said.

However, a State Government spokesman said the preliminary view was that the base station fell under Transport Depot and Distribution development.

This allows for public transport that has the potential to move large numbers of people but for which little or no infrastructure currently exists in the park, including shuttle buses and cable cars.

“The Government has been advised that based on consultation with Wellington Park Management Trust, a Transport Depot and Distribution development, which is defined as including cable cars, is discretionary use under the Wellington Park Management Plan,” the spokesman said.

“A definitive assessment in respect of any particular project within Wellington Park can only be undertaken once a detailed development application has been lodged.

“The Government is currently working through the company’s request to access land for the purposes of undertaking studies to inform such an assessment.”

Mr Cutlan said it was laughable for the Government to consider the cable-car bid anything other than a tourist operation.

“The Government is trying anything they can to get around what is a major hurdle for the cable car proposal,” he said.

An MWCC spokesman said it understood the development application would be of high interest once lodged.

The spokesman said the company asked for patience “a little while longer”.