Developers of the proposed Kangaroo Bay hotel are pushing forward with their plans to get approval for the new luxury hotel on Hobart’s eastern shore, seeking “major project” status for the development.
After facing resistance from the Clarence City Council over ownership of the prime waterfront land, Chambroad Australia’s Project Manager Greg Hudson said a major project application is the only way to move forward.
“There is simply no other path for this project to proceed other than through a major project application, as an ordinary DA would be voted down by politically motivated councillors,” he claimed.
“The Kangaroo Bay Particular Purpose Zone (PPZ) provides the planning platform for investment and development of the Kangaroo Bay Hotel that is designed to provide benefits across the Southern region.”
The updated proposal includes a $65 million investment in construction and projects over $500 million in visitor spending within the first 10 years.
It also outlines the creation of 100 construction jobs and 443 permanent positions distributed across the region, with half in Clarence and the remainder in Glenorchy, Hobart, Sorell, Brighton, Kingborough, Derwent Valley and Southern Midlands.
“The new submission provides considerable additional and new evidence in relation these criteria and we believe that it should now be declared a Major Project,” Hudson said.
Mayor Brendan Blomeley disagrees, saying the council authorised the Acting CEO to submit its response to the Minister for Planning during a closed council meeting on Monday night.
He said the proposal “does not have the necessary attributes” to qualify as a major project.
“The intention of the Act is clear that major project status should be strictly reserved for developments of a scale, impact or complexity that set them apart from other developments of similar character,” he said.
“This second proposal, like the first, falls short of that.”
Blomeley said the proposal should be deferred until the issue of ownership of the land is resolved.
“The assessment of the proposal will involve considerable public funds and resources being consumed and in the event Clarence City Council is successful in buying the land back, it will be a waste of resources at a state and local government level,” he said.
“Council remains committed to buying back the land and will update the community when it can during this process.”
