Central Hobart Plan

Results of stage 2 engagement: Discussion Paper

Thank you for taking the time to share your valuable feedback with the City of Hobart on our Discussion Paper on the Central Hobart Precincts Structure Plan. Your ideas and input is important and informing how we collectively work to shape Hobart as a captivating and dynamic capital city.

As we refine and develop our major city-shaping priorities for Hobart, responses to our Discussion Paper on a Central Hobart Precincts Structure Plan have provided valuable information and insights to help us work towards our new, shared vision for Hobart.

The Engagement Report summarises initial responses to the Discussion Paper and reflects the feedback that close to a thousand people have provided to the City of Hobart to date.

Over the next few months, the City will continue working with the State and Federal Governments as well as urban design experts around potential major developments and the corresponding changes this will require to our Draft Plan.

What happened in the first stage of engagement?

In 2019 the City compiled a Baseline Report and commissioned an Economic, Demographic and Employment Study on central Hobart. These two documents detailed current conditions, issues and opportunities and include projections for future growth in the study area.

The City has reviewed feedback from its initial survey and ideas mapping tool undertaken during stage one engagement in early 2020. Feedback from this engagement has informed the Central Hobart Precinct Plan Discussion Paper, which provides the focus of the next phase of community engagement.

What's happening now?

City of Hobart has recently released its Central Hobart Precincts Plan Discussion Paper to help inform conversations about the future of the City of Hobart. The discussion paper ponders topics related to Central Hobart’s land use, built form, public realm, connectivity and investment. At the same time, the City of Hobart has also released an Economic, Demographic and Employment Study – COVID-19 update and a report on development contributions for shared infrastructure.

In Central Hobart, in addition to a Central precinct (sometimes called the CBD), four future ‘urban neighbourhoods’ are suggested as areas for potential renewal and revitalisation:

1. Central
2. Elizabeth Midtown
3. Trinity Campbell
4. Wapping Quarter
5. Rivulet

We encourage you to join the conversation and make your voice heard by contributing feedback to our online survey, being involved in our community workshops or registering for updates on the progress of this project.

Over the next few months, the City of Hobart will be talking to a wide range of stakeholders, from homeowners and retailers to developers and investors, to gather their ideas and opinions of the concept. Once that input has been received, compiled and evaluated, we will develop the draft Central Hobart Precincts Plan, which will be released for further community consultation next year.

The draft precincts plan will provide guidance and clarity on preferred design outcomes for different parts of the city and how each area’s heritage, landscape, sustainability, economic growth and liveability can be enhanced.

If you have any questions or wish to discuss the project further, please contact us on (03) 6238 2711 or coh@hobartcity.com.au.

The City of Hobart and the Tasmanian Government are working in partnership with the community to develop the Central Hobart Precinct Plan. This precinct plan will guide future development within central Hobart.

The project was launched in March 2020 and a baseline report and Economic, Demographic and Employment Study were completed. These reports detail the issues and opportunities in the Central Hobart Precinct. A survey was launched on City’s Your Say page for the community to provide feedback on the baseline report.

The project was put on hold due to impacts of COVID-19. This time has enabled us to better understand the short and long term social and economic impacts of the pandemic on our community.

We are now able to restart the project and we have engaged Hill PDA to provide a COVID-19 update to the Economic, Demographic and Employment Study. We are also preparing a discussion paper to explore the key strategic issues, options and ideas for the precinct plan. This will be the focus of the next phase of community engagement later in 2021.

The previous online survey and idea mapping tool have been closed and the feedback gained from this is being reviewed. We thank everyone who provided feedback and suggestions on this survey. An engagement report with outcomes will be provided in a future project update and the feedback will also inform the development of the discussion paper.

If you have any direct questions or comments about the project, you can get in touch by emailing coh@hobartcity.com.au

The City of Hobart and the Tasmanian Government are working in partnership with the community to develop the Central Hobart Precincts Plan (Precincts Plan) – a holistic plan to guide future development of Central Hobart.

The Precincts Plan project was launched in March 2020 with the release of a baseline report and an Economic, Demographic and Employment Study which, combined, detail the issues and opportunities in the Central Hobart Precincts area. A survey was also launched on the YourSay Hobart website for the community to provide feedback on the baseline report.

With the emergence of COVID-19 and the subsequent social and economic impact that has unfolded, a decision was made in May 2020 to pause the project until such time that the short- and long-term social and economic impacts of the pandemic are better understood and the assumptions in the baseline report can be updated to accurately reflect the present situation. A date of August 2020 was nominated for the situation to be reviewed and a decision made on restarting our stakeholder and community engagement, supported by updated research.

The project team have recently decided that given the ongoing uncertainty about the COVID impacts to the economy,it is still too early to review the economic projections made in the baseline report. The situation will be reviewed again in November 2020.

In the meantime, we are continuing to have open conversations with our stakeholders. As part of this work, the online survey and idea mapping tool will remain open on the YourSay Hobart website – to provide you with the opportunity to have your say on this important project. You can also email the project team at coh@hobartcity.com.au if you have any direct questions or comments about the project.

Thanks for your ongoing interest in this project.

The City of Hobart and the Tasmanian Government are working in partnership with the community to develop the Central Hobart Precincts Plan (Precincts Plan) – a holistic plan to guide future development of Central Hobart.

The Precincts Plan project was launched in March 2020 with the release of a baseline report and an Economic, Demographic and Employment Study which, combined, detail the current situation, issues and opportunities in the Central Hobart Precincts area.

A survey was also launched on the YourSay Hobart website for the community to provide feedback.

Disruption as a result of COVID19
Given the emergence of COVID-19 and associated precautions to limit its spread, such as encouraging people to stay home wherever possible, restrictions on gatherings, and implementation of social distancing measures, community engagement on this project has been paused.

COVID-19 has also had an impact on many of the key assumptions included in the baseline report, particularly research around economic growth projections. This project relies on sound research – without it, decisions might be made informed by incorrect information that does not reflect current demand and drivers. Accordingly the Baseline Report will be reviewed when the post-COVID situation is clearer and the short- and long-term social and economic impacts are better understood.

We will then bring the updated information to the community and restart the engagement phase of the project. We are committed to engaging with our community and stakeholders on this project, which is important to our city. This engagement will be relevant and meaningful. It is our intention to continue progressing the development of the Central Hobart Precincts Plan when the baseline research has been revised, and the community and stakeholders are in a better position to engage more effectively.

As announcements around COVID-19 are being updated so frequently at present, we will review the situation in three months’ time (August 2020) and make a decision on restarting our stakeholder and community engagement, supported by updated research.

In the meantime, we are continuing conversations with our stakeholders. As part of this work, the online survey and idea mapping tool will remain open on the YourSay Hobart website – to provide you with the opportunity to have your say on this important project.

In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the timeframes for the first phase of engagement for this project are under review.

The online survey and idea mapping tool will remain open for the time being to provide you with an opportunity to have your say on this important project.

As we get more clarity over the current situation we will keep you informed and, if possible, provide further opportunities for you to have your say on the development of the Central Hobart Precincts Plan.