Hobart’s new hospital will become the tallest building in the CBD

THE addition of a helipad will make Hobart’s new hospital its tallest city-centre building.

The addition of a helipad will make the redeveloped Royal Hobart Hospital the tallest building in the city centre.

THE new K Block at the Royal Hobart Hospital will be Hobart CBD’s highest building thanks to a new helipad.

The helipad added an extra eight metres to the original approval, taking the total height to 68.5 metres.

It compares with the 57m of NAB House (the former AMP building) — the tallest in the CBD — and the 75m of Wrest Point Casino.

Lord Mayor Ron Christie said the height increase had been approved by the council earlier in the year.

He said the helipad height increase had been necessary to accommodate a safe flight path for the helicopter.

“The helipad was either going to be at the Cenotaph or at the hospital and it is more appropriate to have it at the hospital,” Ald Christie said.

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“It is an integral part of the hospital to have the helipad there and that is why we supported it. We would be concerned about anything much higher than that.”

Building heights have been a hot topic in Hobart since the Singapore-based Fragrance Group proposed a 210m hotel in Davey St, since downgraded to 179m, and an 84m hotel in Collins St.

In July last year exclusive Mercury polling conducted by ReachTEL showed 62.4 per cent of 2817 Tasmanians polled did not support skyscrapers in central Hobart, with 20.1 per cent in favour of skyscrapers and 17.5 undecided.

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Hobart not Highrise group president Brian Corr said that the acceptability of the increased height depended on whether a public need could be established.

But he said he would not like to see the K Block height used as justification or a benchmark for other developments.

“It’s kind of disappointing because it will be used by others to measure against,” he said. “We have already had Fragrance comparing the one down in Davey St with the hospital.”

Greens Alderman and member of the City Planning Committee Helen Burnet said there needed to be some flexibility with an essential service in a special zone.

“As a principle, things should be sticking closer to planning scheme heights but with things like hospitals then there is some flexibility, but we wouldn’t want to go much higher,” she said.

“This is an essential service for the city and as a tertiary hospital for Tasmania.”

The council is still working on a standards for building heights.

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At present the interim planning scheme has a maximum height of 45m in the CBD and 18m in Sullivans Cove, with changes being considered by the Tasmanian Planning Commission.

Ald Burnet last year called for a maximum building height for the CBD.

“My concern was that the scale and liveability of the city would be affected if the heights change,” she said.

“That’s not like setting a specific height but I would be concerned if it varied too much from what it is now.”

Last year the Hyatt Centric Hotel in the Elizabeth St bus mall was approved at 63m and the Myer Crowne Plaza at 53m.