Project: Hawley Esplanade Pathway
Status: Approved
Budget: $950k
Update December 2023: At its meeting on 11 December 2023, Council sitting as a Planning Authority approved the development application for the proposed shared pathway along Hawley foreshore, subject to a number of conditions.
Before construction can commence, the Crown require Council to undertake further investigation in relation to little penguins, nesting shorebirds and the green and gold frog. When the investigation work is done, consent to undertake construction works on Crown Land will be sought from Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania. Work on the drafting of tender documentation for the project has also commenced.
It is possible that on ground works may not commence in the current financial year. If this is the case the allocated funding will be carried forward to next financial year.
Update November 2023: Council has now received consent to lodge and the development application is currently on public exhibition. The application documentation is available at Planning Applications on Public Exhibition | Latrobe Council and submissions in relation to the application must be received by close of business on 16th November 2023.
Update August 2023: Our last update advised that consent to lodge the DA was received from Parks and Wildlife which would have commenced the statutory assessment process under the Planning Scheme and the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993.
The application documentation was drafted based on the Latrobe Interim Planning Scheme 2013. Unfortunately, by the time Council received consent to lodge the new Tasmanian Planning Scheme – Latrobe became effective, and the application has had to be reworked to reflect the requirements of the new scheme. This work has now been completed and the application has been resubmitted to Parks and Wildlife for their consent to lodge.
As soon as the consent is received the application will be lodged with Council’s planning department and it will proceed through the statutory planning process.
Due to the delay in receiving required approvals, the Council has committed $300,000 in their capital works budget for this current financial year, with the balance to be allocated in 2024/25 to enable completion of the project.
Update April 2023: Council has received Crown consent to lodge the Development Application (DA) for the Hawley Esplanade Shared Pathway.
The DA has been submitted to Council’s planning team for preliminary checking. As the DA is likely to be a discretionary application, it will then be advertised for a period of public exhibition. The DA will be available for viewing at the Council Offices and Council’s Public Exhibition website: https://www.latrobe.tas.gov.au/services/building-and-planning-services/planningapp.
Representations can be made up until the end of the expiry date on the public notice. Representations can either be in support of, or in opposition of the proposal. Further details about making a representation can be obtained from the following website: https://www.planning.tas.gov.au/assessments-and-hearings/faqs.
For transparency, the DA will be assessed by an external planning consultant who will make a recommendation at the conclusion of the assessment process. The Council as a Planning Authority will then consider the recommendation at the next available Council Meeting.
The planning assessment process is expected to take approximately eight weeks to complete.
During this time, further work will be undertaken to finalise the construction drawings and tender documents for the project.
A further update will be made once the DA is available for public exhibition
Update December 2022: The Development Application (DA) for the Hawley Esplanade Shared Pathway has been sent to the Parks and Wildlife Service for Crown’s consent. The consent of the Crown is required as a majority of the proposed path is on Crown Land.
Once consent is received, any required amendments or changes will be incorporated into the DA before it is lodged with Council for assessment under the Latrobe Interim Planning Scheme.
As the DA is likely to be a discretionary Planning Application it will need to be advertised. The application will be available for viewing at the Council Offices and Council’s Public Exhibition webpage: https://www.latrobe.tas.gov.au/services/building-and-planning-services/planningapp.
For transparency, the DA will be assessed by an external planning consultant who will make a recommendation for Council to consider at the next available Council Meeting.
The planning assessment process is expected to take approximately eight weeks to complete.
During this time, further work will be undertaken to confirm the ground conditions for the elevated walkway sections which will be used to finalise the construction drawings and tender documents for the project.
A further update will be made once the DA has been lodged with Council.
Update October 2022: Detailed design is 95% complete with some clarifications relating to gradient still to be resolved. The Development Application is being finalised and is likely to be lodged in November 2022.
Scope: After extensive consultation, Council is considering constructing a 2.5m wide concrete exposed aggregate path along the foreshore on the Eastern side of Hawley Esplanade.
Revised plans for the shared path were tabled at Latrobe Council’s 2021 August Meeting along with submissions received about the previous revision.
The revised plans adopted by Council include the removal of the proposed car parking area in vicinity of ‘Little Beach’ and the possible inclusion of an elevated walkway section between chainage 105m and 165m. A copy of the revised plans can be viewed on Council’s website here.
These plans have been lodged with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE Tas) as the first step in obtaining the necessary approvals and permits.
Parks and Wildlife Service (PWS) administer this land leased by Council from the Crown. PWS officers have been kept up to date with the project as it progresses. A Natural Values assessment and report has been commissioned and is expected to be delivered in early May and will allow a Development Application to be progressed and lodged. The application will be publicly advertised as part of the Planning Approval process. It is difficult to identify a likely construction program until a Planning Permit has been issued.
The Tasmanian Government Grant Funding Deed ($220,000) requires Council to build a shared use pathway. In a practical sense this means providing access for wheelchairs, mobility scooters, and other such mobility devices.
Our Fact Sheets recently handed out during our Community Information Evening has more information. The General Design Update can be downloaded here and the Path Materials Update can be downloaded here.
