Cable car company takes council to planning tribunal

Residents against the kunanyi/Mt Wellington cable car proposal are hopeful “secret information” will come out as proponents take Hobart City Council to the planning tribunal.

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THE company proposing to build a cable car on Mt Wellington is taking the Hobart City Council to the planning tribunal – claiming it has breached planning laws.

Resource Management and Planning Appeal Tribunal will hear arguments over whether the council has the right to seek further information about the project’s potential impact on aboriginal heritage.

The original development application for the project was lodged with the Hobart City Council in June last year, with further information supplied in January.

Mt Wellington Cablecar Company chair Chris Oldfield said the company was seeking a ruling on whether council requests for further information breached time limits in the Land Use Planning Assessment Act.

“The planning laws set timelines for councils to make decisions,” he said.

“We have followed the process and it is unreasonable for the council to now try to make requests clearly outside this process.

“Were we to accede to this it has the potential to open the way to a never-ending list of new questions.

“Consequentially we lodged an appeal with the Resource Management and Planning Appeals Tribunal to get a ruling on the validity of the new request.”

In June, the council sought a “desktop assessment” undertaken by Aboriginal Heritage Tasmania demonstrating that there will be no Aboriginal heritage sites affected by the proposed development.

Mr Oldfield said that information was provided on October 2 and he was confident it met the planning law requirements.

“Now they have a further request which we believe is invalid under the law,” he said.

“We do not believe that the cable car development will disturb any known Aboriginal heritage sites but we respect the original custodians of kunanyi/Mount Wellington and have guaranteed that strong protocols are in place to protect any Aboriginal heritage that may be discovered within the project footprint route.”

Acting Hobart City Council general manager Tim Short said the assessment of the project by the council was on hold.

“The proponent has exercised their right to lodge an appeal relating to a request for further information,” he said.

“That is now a matter for the Tribunal and our representatives will participate in the legal proceedings in the normal manner.

“In the meantime, assessment of the planning application remains on hold.”

The case is listed for a directions hearing before the Tribunal next Thursday.

The company has previous stated that once it gains council approval it hopes to have the cablecar operating by the end of 2022.

Residents Opposed to the Cable Car spokesman Vica Bayley responded to the news, saying:

“It’s difficult to properly understand the spin surrounding this cable car legal challenge when the proponent has refused to release the additional information that supports its development application,” he said.

“Despite once promising transparency, the cable car proponent has kept its additional information secret, so it’s impossible to really grasp what it has provided, what has been requested and when.

“All issues on kunanyi/Mt Wellington are sensitive, but none more so than Aboriginal heritage protection. Exactly what requested additional information is the Mt Wellington Cable Car Company trying to avoid producing?”

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