Clarence councillors have knocked back plans for a $30 million, six-storey office and retail building in the heart of Rosny Park, with one councillor accusing his colleagues of treating the CBD “like a country town”.
The proposal would have replaced an existing residential property at 21-25 Bayfield Street with more than 13,000 square metres of office space, 2,400 square metres of retail space and a restaurant.
Clarence City Council planners recommended refusal at a special planning authority meeting on Monday night. Their main concern was parking.
The basement would have provided 143 spaces – well short of the 385 required under the planning scheme.
All vehicles would enter through the Winkleigh Place public car park, with no access from Bayfield Street or Cambridge Road.
A traffic assessment estimated the building would generate about 1,860 vehicle trips a day.
Councillor Tony Mulder was the loudest voice against refusal.
He argued the city was failing its own ‘City Heart’ vision by blocking significant commercial development over parking.
“Name me a capital city or a reasonable sized city that doesn’t have multi-storey car parks,” Mulder said.
He said the council should be building them and offering two-hour free parking for shoppers and paid parking for commuters.
“We are treating it like it’s at Cambridge Park or some regional area,” he said. “Are we a city or are we a country town?”
“If we are really serious about creating a city CBD rather than a regional country town, then we have to step up with this car parking nonsense.”
Mayor Brendan Blomeley also broke from his planners.
He said the project could “turbocharge” the City Heart Plan endorsed last year and suggested the refusal was for another reason.
“It seems to me, reading between the lines, that this development is being refused because of aesthetics. Nothing more,” he said.
“We just don’t like the way it looks,” he added, going on to say the council’s own chamber is “possibly one of the most unattractive buildings in southern Tasmania”.
“However, in 1975, it was awarded an Australian Institute of Architects Award and it won the Enduring Architecture Award in the 2022 Tasmanian Architecture Awards.”
“So, in my mind, it’s obvious that beauty really is in the eyes of the beholder.”
Blomeley said the building would have assisted with the “decentralisation of Hobart” and would have eased congestion on the Tasman Bridge.
Councillor James Walker said no one had drafted a viable alternative, meaning opposition was “just huffing and puffing”.
The motion for refusal was carried, with the developer expected to appeal the council’s decision.
