31st May Update

Last night, we presented at a Clarence City Council (CCC) workshop regarding concerns with the Urban Growth Boundary and the request to extend this for the Mega-Skylands development. We closed this workshop with the following request to Aldermen:

"We have an obligation for future generations to get this right, including everyone in this meeting. This decision initially rests with our elected Aldermen.

We ask that you review our document and community concerns and consider CCC’s own survey results.

Please do not let the housing crisis cloud your judgement and remember that 100 houses per year in a high end development, will not fix the housing crisis in Tasmania.

Please make an empowered decision for the people that you represent and don’t simply pass this to the Minister to make a decision.

On behalf of our supporters and the 5,000 people who have signed our petition, we ask that you as our elected members reject the request to extend the urban growth boundary and revisit options that respect the current UGB and community concerns."

President Friends of Tranmere at a workshop presentation to CCC

Aldermen on 30th May 2022.

19th May 2022 update

At request of the CCC GM, we have retracted a statement in V1 of our submission document. This statement may have been interpreted that CCC officers acted in bad faith. This was not our intent and an apology letter has been prepared for CCC. We shared RTI information for people to form their own views.

An updated version (V2) of our submission has been uploaded and will be distributed. This can now be accessed in the above links and also includes reference to the CCC Survey results that were released on the 16th May 2022.

16th May 2022 update

CCC’s own survey that took place online, is conclusive that people are concerned with Skylands and request Council and all Aldermen, reject the request to extend the Urban Growth Boundary. In addition to over 5,000 people who have signed our pettion against the mega-development in our backyards. #RejectUGBExtension

14th May 2022 Update

Today, Friends of Tranmere and local residents met with Anna Bateman Local Party candidate for Franklin, Rosalie Woodruff MP for Franklin, Alderman Luke Edmunds, Beth Warren for Clarence - a liveable city, Tony Mulder, Wendy Kennedy for Clarence Council and Richard James alderman to discuss community concerns with the proposed extension of the urban growth boundary in Tranmere and also the proposed change from a cul-da-sac to a 'main' over-the-hill connector street for Norla Street.

Norla street is not an appropriate road for several reasons, most importantly safety of local residents and users of this cul-da-sac, which is already challenging to navigate when vehicles are parked on the road.

We request that CCC Alderman, reject the current request by the DPZ & Carr Developers to extend the urban growth boundary.

Thank you to those who turned up and to the thousands of people who have signed out petition. Please contact the CCC Alderman to express your concerns. This important decision rests with them in the first instance.

Please note, all Aldermen were invited today and we received apologies from the Mayor, Brendan, Sharon, John, James and Heather.

April 27th 2022 Update (in response to Mercury Article)

Thank you for signing our petition and ongoing support.  It's been fantastic to see our numbers double over the past two months, now only a couple of hundred signatures shy of 5,000 people who are concerned against the Skylands mega plan for Droughty Peninsula.  

We have asked to meet with Greg Carr and the DPZ team multiple times through various avenues, yet they have failed to acknowledge or respond to our requests.  We had hoped to work with them to design a community focused approach to the Master plan.  This ignorance demonstrates their lack of concern for people who live locally and will be directly or indirectly impacted by their US Style design.  In their recent 'defence' against protesters (which is not what we are), we have had a significant update of more signatures and contacts of support.  

We are calling for you to share this petition and contact CCC Alderman to express your concern.  Together, we can express concern and advocate for a community focused approach to this site.  

We have included a photo below, which is one of their own designs which we wish to discuss.  This still achieves 70-80% of what Skylands 'wishes' for, yet aligns more closely with community expectations.  There are a few things missing which would also need to be included, but it's a demonstration that we wish to work with DPZ and Greg Carr and that we are not 'anti-development' or 'protestors'. 

Thanks again for your support.

Friends of Tranmere and Droughty Peninsula Inc.  

March 2nd 2022 ** Update on the Richardson Rd Request to Extend the Urban Growth Boundary**
It was disappointing to see that the CCC Mayor and Aldermen voted 7:5 to support the process progression to extend the urban growth boundary in Lauderdale.
This is after ‘community consultation’ which saw 77% of participants vote to reject this extension. This is concerning, noting Clarence City Council is currently doing the exact same ‘consultation’ process which appears to be a token gesture.

Please complete the survey (noted below) and contact all CCC Aldermen in regard to your concerns. It is very important that this takes place as a priority. Please continue to share the survey, the petition and education in regard to the Skylands proposal. This will impact the whole of Hobart.

FEB 18th 2022 **Important Update and action required on the Proposed Mega-US Skylands Development for Droughty Peninsula**

 Friends of Tranmere and Droughty Peninsula Inc. needs your help!

If you have signed our petition or are against any extension to the Urban Growth Boundary (which is within an approved 25 year plan), it is not important for you to submit your feedback to the Clarence City Council in regards to the Developer's proposal to extend the Urban Growth Boundary.  The current urban Growth Boundary is identified as the ‘blue dotted line’ in the Skylands Image.  Above this line is approximately 70m contour, which was previously approved for 12 x single dwelling allotments.  In this same space, if approved, over 400 dwellings would be approved. 

 This is a HUGE development being proposed for our Peninsula. This will add over 2,600 dwellings to the end of Oceana Rd and Droughty Pt Rd, adding over 5,000 vehicles to these two main thoroughfares, not to mention the gridlocked South Arm highway. Council has already completed a survey for this area, but refused to released this document known as the Niche Report.

 Please share and complete this new, short survey and invite your local family and friends to do the same:

https://www.yoursay.ccc.tas.gov.au/skylands-proposed-ugb-adjustment

Update Jan 2022

• Friends of Tranmere’s E-Petition has been supported by nearly 3,000 e-signatures, clearly demonstrating that citizens in the Hobart greater region are concerned at the sheer scale of Skylands.

• Our team has written to the Carr Family and requested to meet to discuss our concerns and work collaboratively with the developers and their design team. Unfortunately they have failed to respond. This is unfortunate as our team believes there are options available within current development guidelines that would still result in an AMAZING development with some great community spaces.

• The development proposed breaches multiple aspects of current approved development protocols and we will continue to consult with Aldermen, Council and other stakeholders to ensure the concerns of the community are heard.

What can you do?

• Make sure your family, friends and neighbours are aware of Skyland’s intention to breach multiple aspects of development protocols.

• Make sure they know that instead of 1700 approved dwellings, the Developers and Skylands intend adding an additional 1000 dwellings into this same space, meaning nearly 2,700 dwellings crammed onto the end of this Peninsula.

• Sign our E-Petition

• Write to all Clarence Aldermen and raise your concerns.

• Become active with our Community focused group (email friends@tranmere.org)

• Request to see the CCC initiated and funded, ‘Niche report’ which was a Masterplan for this area. This structure plan This has not been publicly released. So far, this has not been released!

• Demand that any development of this site must be within the current approved planning scheme and the Southern Regional Land Use Strategy 2010-2035.

Update 1st November 2021

• Friends of Tranmere has confirmed that an extension of the Urban Growth Boundary is the first process that is required for the Skylands “Grand Plan” Proposal 1. This would see over 400 dwellings along the top of the Hill, previously approved for 12 single dwelling ‘environmental living allotments’. Friends of Tranmere has campaigned with Clarence City Council Alderman who will be the first 'decision point’ for the proposal to extend the Urban Growth Boundary.

• We encourage residents who are concerned with the proposed extension of the Urban Growth Boundary to reach out to Aldermen and raise your concerns.

• Skylands already has a Masterplan (option 3) which respects the current urban growth boundary.

• There will be a council (Aldermen) decision in regard to whether the extension to the Urban Growth Boundary will be approved or not.

What is Skylands?

Skylands is a urban masterplan designed by Florida-based DPZ Group, working for the landowners (the Carr Family) who own much of the open grasslands on Droughty Point.

From what we know, the Carrs were approached by the Clarence City Council to avoid further urban sprawl that has seen Tranmere grow to date. The CCC asked the Carrs to present to them a long term masterplan for their landholding (we assume so the council and other relevant state authorities (i.e TasNetworks, TasWater etc) could plan the necessary infrastructure for the future).

The Carrs saw this as an opportunity to maximise their landholding with as many allotments as possible, wishing to portray that a denser urban community would be a smarter, more sustainable solution for all stakeholders. They have sought to distance themselves from the previously agreed planning scheme that protects the skyline and foreshore of Droughty Point and initiated an extremely narrow and disastrous, one-way ‘consultation’ program to tick the ‘community consultation’ box, if asked by the council. For many, this slapstick, cookie cutter approach has drawn the ire of many residents.

TRAFFIC

Of critical concern is the fanciful expectation that doubling the population of Howrah won’t pose too much of an issue for traffic on the existing road network; whether that be Tranmere/Howrah Rd to the Shoreline Roundabout, Oceana Drive, the South Arm Highway, Mornington Roundabout or the Tasman Bridge. The developers claim that the rising trend of ‘working from home’ and ‘ferries’ will mitigate such concern.

The absurdity of their traffic modelling culminates with their plan to connect Tranmere and Rokeby with a shortcut road over the skyline.
FTDPA believe this connector is being pushed to allow the Carrs not for ‘traffic easing’ purposes but to allow them to develop the Rokeby side of the peninsula without having to purchase further land parcels and/or put pressure on council and state authorities to connect Tollard Drive and Droughty Point road… That means all of Skylands will feed through Oceana Drive at best, or worse, create a hoon circuit. Thousands of residents have concerns on the sheer scale of the Mega-Skylands proposal. We are asking that the CCC and the Carr family reconsider and work with us and other groups to resolve these issues. This is a fantastic opportunity to ensure that this site is sustainably developed within current approved planning schemes.

This is what happens when foreign designers and traffic ‘experts’ don’t properly understand the site or social demographics of the area.

NOT JUST RESIDENTIAL

Beyond the 2,530 properties, Skylands is proposed to offer some 11,000 square metres of office and retail space. The community is told this will create ‘villages’ and save local residents having to drive elsewhere for services, but we also know how Hobartians live and work - and we’re pretty sure Battery Point cafes aren’t exclusively visited by Battery Point locals. Such expansive retail and office space will result in more inbound traffic from around Hobart, not just commuting residents.

According to the Skylands presentation, 70% of the development will be considered multi-dwelling (units/townhouses or ‘multi-family’ dwellings). There is also a concept of shared backyards, similar to USA styled housing.

THEIR ACTUAL PRESENTATION CAN BE FOUND HERE:
https://colab.dpz.com/skylands/charrette-final-presentation/#slides