Plans for a 67-room boutique hotel on Davey Street have been approved, with councillors praising the scaled-down design but noting it will still block some views of Mount Wellington from St David’s Park.
The six-storey development received the green light at Wednesday night’s Hobart City Council planning meeting after previous versions were knocked back in recent years.
Councillor Bill Harvey said the latest design was a big improvement on previous proposals.
“I think it’s a far better outcome than the previous two incarnations,” he said. “The podium area looks quite nice. The height is less.”
The hotel will feature 39 car parking spaces accessed by valet service and car lift across basement levels.
Harvey acknowledged the development would obstruct sightlines to the mountain from the park gates but said it was an acceptable trade-off.
“There’s no entitlement to own the view,” he said. “Previous incarnations blocked more than this one.”
Councillor Gemma Kitsos raised concerns from the Royal Australian Air Force Association, which runs the neighbouring memorial centre.
The group is worried about losing parking access during construction, when a sewer pipe upgrade is due to cross its property.
Planning staff said those details would be resolved through a construction management plan, which will require negotiation with nearby landowners.
“I’m really pleased to see the thought that’s gone into this particular application,” Kitsos said.
“… Previous iterations were higher and this one has come down in height and seems very reasonable within the urban landscape that it sits within.”
Questions were also raised about the lack of bicycle parking for guests, with council staff agreeing to recommend it be added to the design.
The approved plan includes a three-storey podium at street level, with upper levels set back to reduce visual impact within the heritage precinct.
