"Skylands" is a proposed development of the Droughty Point Peninsula in Hobart.  This was first presented in November and December through online 'Charettes', from the US Developers, 'DPZ'.  The site includes a 300 hectare area beyond Tranmere and Rokeby and has potential to impact the whole Eastern Shore and beyond, if this proposal goes ahead on the sheer scale that has been presented.  

This is Hobart's largest development proposal with over 2,500 proposed dwellings for the Droughty Point/Tranmere Peninsula. Over 70% of these proposed dwellings are semi-detached or 'multi-family' living, with shared backyards. Most of these dwellings have shared or no backyard (relying on open space).  The 2016 Census concluded that Tranmere had 685 dwellings at this time, this proposal will add four times as many homes and over 6,000 more residents onto the peninsula.  Noting that Skylands is in addition to the numerous other development sites in Rokeby, Howrah, South Arm and Lauderdale which will all contribute to increasing demands on infrastructure which are already failing to cope. 

The 'Friends of Tranmere and Droughty Peninsula' Inc., community group is raising local awareness of this mega development, which includes intruding on our Skyline (development above the 70metre mark), over-the-hill connector roads (connecting the Eastern side of the Peninsula to the Western side via Norla Street which is a steep cul-da-sac), destruction of the existing Sheoak forest and associated wildlife corridors, and add an additional 5,500 vehicles onto Oceana Dr, Tranmere Rd and Droughty Point Rd, connecting back onto the grid-locked South Arm Highway.  The interstate traffic consultants who were involved in the Skylands proposal have used unrealistic traffic modelling.

The developers have failed to provide an environmental assessment of this proposal and were not aware that this development backed onto the Ralph's Bay conservation area.  The proposal fails to include any sporting fields or address concerns raised by the limited consultation in regard to the over-the-hill connectors roads and traffic congestion which were raised by concerned residents.  There is one small school identified in the plan which does not contain a sporting oval.  The school itself is only the size of 3 x traditional sized Tranmere blocks (totalling approximately 3000sqm).  

Community consultation consisted of a small number of live web sessions at inconvenient times that suited the US based developers.  They were not broadly publicised, and had a maximum attendance of 20 to 30 people, including the owners of the site.  Feedback that was provided was overlooked and not taken into account for the final proposed plan.  

We are asking that the Clarence Council, Alderman, the Department of State Growth and the Tasmanian Government:

• Do not support the proposed mega-scale of the International Skylands Development.
• Consider formalised community engagement and consultation with any future proposal for this area.
• Plan the appropriate infrastructure including schools to meet the expected future demands on the Eastern Shore. 
• Ensure transparency with a complete traffic assessment for the South Arm Highway, Tranmere Rd, Droughty Point Rd and Oceana Dr.  
• Do not support over-the-hill connector roads which impact our Skyline and endangers residents living in existing cul-da-sacs. 
• Engage a local developer who understands the Australian lifestyle and who can engage face-to-face with the community.
• Protect the Sheoak forest and wildlife corridors and complete an environmental assessment for Ralph's Bay and the surrounding area.  Protect the endangered wedge-tailed eagles.  
• Consult with the Aboriginal Heritage Tasmania on the local Aboriginal heritage importance of this site.  
• Please do not amend the planning scheme to allow development above the 70m mark.  

The residents of the Eastern Shore and Hobart need to demonstrate that the community is requesting a new community-focused proposal to develop this site in line with community expectations that factor in our Australian lifestyle.  

Thank you for taking the time to demonstrate a strong community focused solution to the future development of this Hobart Icon, the Droughty Point Peninsula.  

Please visit www.tranmere.org for more information on community engagement in the Tranmere area.  

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