20-lot residential sub-division proposed for Enterprise Rd, Sandy Bay

Residents in an up-market Hobart suburb say a proposed sub-division will ruin the character of the area, and “presents serious safety issues in terms of traffic and flooding”.

SANDY Bay residents are concerned about the impact a proposed residential subdivision may have on the character of the up-market area.

A development application has been submitted to the Hobart City Council for 20 stand-alone units constructed in five stages at the 0.8ha site at 21 Enterprise Rd.

The project has been put forward by Victorian-based owners Xanadu Developments, which bought the property in July 2019.

Planning documents state the units would be a mixture of two and three levels, with some reaching 8m high.

“The interim planning scheme for residential development on this lot states 24 units are permitted, but due to the size of the footprints of the proposed residences along with the slope of the site, we believe the 20 units fit better,” the documents state.

Neighbour Peter Silby said he was not anti-development but had concerns about the density of the proposal.

“Putting 20 new units is the equivalent of having a whole new Enterprise Rd jammed into one section of the bush,” he said.

MORE NEWS:

• ‘Work of art’: Whisky distillers join fight against COVID-19
• Donor egg shortage keeping couples waiting
• Drug driver ‘flung’ from bike in ambulance crash

“I’m not sure Sandy Bay has seen many other proposals quite like this with 20 free-standing high-density units.

“It’s going to affect the community, which is mainly larger houses on a reasonable plot of land and this will change the character of that.

“It will also affect the view from down in Hobart as well because you’ll see a whole new row of homes running across the tree line.”

Another neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Mercury they had already submitted a representation to the council objecting to the proposal mainly on the grounds of density and how it will impact the character of the neighbourhood.

“This proposal is an industrial scale development which will alter the character of the community,” the neighbour wrote.

“Further developments in the Enterprise Rd area will fundamentally degrade the character of Sandy Bay. The proposal also presents serious safety issues in terms of traffic and flooding. Hobart needs additional housing and I am prepared to accept new development, but it should be of single-family homes similar in character to what is already there and on lot sizes consistent with the existing lots.”