Changes made to TAZZIP proposed kunanyi / Mount Wellington zip line after community meeting
A public meeting held to discuss a zip line proposed for kunanyi/Mount Wellington has resulted in the developer making two key design concessions to placate opponents. See the design.
Tasmania
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The proponent behind a zip line planned for kunanyi/Mount Wellington has released the first concept images of the structure and made two key design concessions in response to concerns from the public about the potential impact of the development.
TAZZIP last week hosted the first public consultation meeting regarding its plans for the dual zip line, which is being described as the “longest, fastest, highest” zip line in the Asia-Pacific region.
About 100 people attended the forum at Fern Tree Community Hall on Saturday, July 20, with TAZZIP claiming that 80 per cent of those present were “positive” towards the proposal and about 20 per cent were “negative about a number of design issues”.
Shane Abel, the director of TAZZIP, said he was pleased with the outcomes from the meeting.
“It was worthwhile listening and we got the feedback and we’ve taken the feedback on board, addressed the issues, and we’ve made the changes,” he said.
Mr Abel said the zip line would be a “pure eco-tourism” development, producing zero emissions and using an electric mini-van to transport users.
South Hobart resident Brody Atkinson, who is against the idea of a zip line, was at the consultation session and disputed the developer’s description of the mood in the room.
“There was a lot of interest in what was going on but I don’t think it was coming from a particularly positive angle,” he said.
“I think it came from such a limited amount of available information and people had a lot of questions.”
Mr Atkinson, who, together with his friend Marco Vincent, has set up a Facebook page called No Kunanyi Zipline, said his chief objection to the proposal was “the degradation of the natural environment”.
“We’re not comfortable with the use of public land for that kind of private enterprise. That’s not a precedent that [should] be set. And it sets a precedent in itself for further development [on the mountain] if this was to go through,” he said.
Concerns raised at the meeting included the planned clearing of the tree canopy for the development of new tracks to access an 18-space car park at Strickland Falls, as well as the destruction of a grassed area and picnic table in the area.
In a summary of the consultation session, prepared by TAZZIP, a “small number” of attendees are said to have stated that “the mountain is pristine and a zip line should not be built”.
The proponent told the crowd that logging and development had occurred on the mountain for more than a century and noted the presence of telecommunication towers at the pinnacle, carparks, toilets, mountain bike tracks, and the former hotel at the Springs.
“The mountain is clearly not a pristine environment. Attendees understood the explanation,” the summary of the meeting said.
Aerial ropeways and other potential transport modes are permitted as discretionary uses and developments on the mountain – outside of the remote and drinking water catchment zones – in the Wellington Park Management Plan.
Responding to concerns from attendees regarding new tracks and a car park at Strickland Falls, the developer committed to shift the parking spaces to Halls Saddle and scrapped track construction plans.
The proposed zip line would be 1.3km in length and would include a 25-metre takeoff tower near the Springs carpark, from where it would run down to the Lower Sawmill Track.
Users would reach speeds of up to 100 km/h and would be suspended at heights of up to 50m above ground.
TAZZIP said impact assessments had been undertaken in relation to Aboriginal and cultural heritage, flora and fauna, visual impact, noise, geoheritage, and traffic and parking, finding the development would have little to no negative impact on the mountain.
A development application has been lodged with Hobart City Council.
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