Hobart councillor speaks out about rushed development decisions

A Tasmanian councillor has spoken out over concerns they do not have enough time to properly assess some developments.

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A HOBART councillor is calling for changes to the planning process over concerns some developments are being rushed through council.

Hobart Deputy Lord Mayor Helen Burnet said a recent situation sparked her desire to speak out.

A $36 million development next to St Michael’s Collegiate School was recommended for approval by the Hobart City Council’s planning officer on Friday.

The proposal is now set to go to the council’s planning committee meeting on Monday afternoon, with a decision about whether to approve the development set to take place at the council’s 5pm meeting.

Hobart City Council Deputy Lord Mayor Helen Burnet is calling for more time to consider developments. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

Cr Burnet said it was not enough time to properly examine a 400 page report and sift through hundreds of representations.

“For most people it will be less than four days to really look at it before it goes to the planning meeting, and then within hours a decision would be made,” she said.

“It makes it difficult to have a whole view of things. It rushes everything rather than giving both elected members and the public time to form a response.”

She said the council put in a request with the developer for an extension, but they were denied.

“This is well beyond rushing,” she said.

“If people want to be heard, are they being heard properly?

“I don’t think we’re properly engaging people in the planning process, especially people who are really concerned about developments such as this one.

“It’s quite difficult for them to take part in it let alone be confident in the process when it seems quite clearly skewed toward the developer.”

She said if this was at the Resource Management and Planning Appeal Tribunal or being considered as part of the Major Projects legislation, the planning authority or the panel would have more than three or four days of consideration.

She said for this to change, they would need to seek change through the Planning Minister.

“I’ll be bringing this up to see if it’s something the council would appreciate,” she said.

A state government spokesperson said all development applications were considered in accordance with statutory processes under the Land Use Planning and Approvals act — including statutory time frames for public comment and assessment.

“The Planning Authority is responsible for ensure the development assessment process adheres to the provisions of the act, and to ensure enough time for the council to make an informed decision,” they said.

“The statutory time frames for assessment are in place to provide certainty for proponents and the community on process for assessing standard development applications and the likely time an assessment will take.”

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