Central Hobart Precincts Plan

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.