Hobart City Council should reject a building application to build a controversial cable car on Kunanyi / Mount Wellington as it would reduce the mountain’s tourist, recreational, cultural and landscape values, a report said.
Important points:
- The report recommended that city councils reject the request for the cable car on 21 reasons, including the fact that the plan was “inconsistent with Wellington Park’s values”.
- The development application submitted by the Mount Wellington Cableway Company received 16,500 public statements, of which nearly 72 percent were against the proposal
- Hobart City Council will vote on the proposal next week
The proposal was recommended for rejection by city councils for a total of 21 reasons, including that the cable car “does not conform to Wellington Park values” and would affect the area due to its size, mechanization and emissions.
When assessing the building application, which also includes a restaurant, café, bar and amphitheater, independent planning experts argued that the proposal did not comply with acceptable noise emissions for local residents.
“The proposed operating times will have an inadequate impact on the quality of the property in the residential areas through noise and other emissions,” the report said.
An artistic impression of the Mount Wellington Cable Car, submitted as part of the 2018 version of the proposal. (
Delivered: MWCC
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The report also recommended that the project should be rejected because the noise emissions on McRobies Road “have the potential to cause environmental damage”.
100 years of cable car plans
You have spoken of a cable car for Mount Wellington in Hobart for the past 130 years, so it is not surprising that the latest plan for a “machine on wires” has found yet another hurdle.
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The request also found that the cable car would have a significant impact on parrot habitats, as the cable car’s bushfire plan calls for clearing the habitat of the endangered bird.
Several of the recommended reasons for the council’s rejection of the project relate to the visual impact of the cable car on Kunanyi / Mount Wellington as the proposed design is “inconsistent with the visual landscape and natural features” of the mountain.
The independent planning report also noted that the proposal would have a negative visual impact on the mountain’s organ pipes.
The newest version of the proposed Pinnacle Center would look like, according to MWCC.
Delivered: MWCC
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The building application, submitted to the council by the Mount Wellington Cableway Company, received 16,500 public representations of the project – a record number of representations ever received by the council.
Of the comments received, almost 72 percent were against the proposal and 28 percent were in favor.
Cable car proposal of the Mount Wellington Cableway Company, current status July 2021. (
Delivered: MWCC
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The previous record was set in 2019 when 1,500 representations were received about a high-rise apartment proposed by the Fragrance Group in the Hobart CBD.
Time for “sustainable” solutions for mountain tourism
Local residents against cable car spokeswoman Vica Bayley welcomed the report and urged the council to act on the recommendation.
“It took many, many years and a lot of community hours and effort, let alone money, to get to this point,” he said.
“People just want to see their mountain protected.”
Mount Wellington Cable Car visualization of the “base station”, as of 2018 offer detail. (
Delivered: MWCC
)
Bayley said the report was a “blanket rejection” of the plan.
“It is time to end the farce of trying to boost mass tourism on Kunanyi / Mount Wellington,” he said.
“This will give people space to enjoy the mountain for what it is, and it will free the council and other stakeholders to actually work on sustainable solutions to some of the challenges of overtourism and touring the mountain.”
Hobart City Council, acting as the planning authority, will officially vote on the proposal at a special council meeting on Tuesday, July 27th, which will be broadcast live starting at 5:00 p.m.
