opinion
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Council to Crack Down on Illegal kunanyi Parking
Growing Demand Highlights Need for Better Mountain Access Each winter, thousands of people head to kunanyi / Mount Wellington to experience snow just minutes from Hobart’s CBD. With limited parking available and increasing visitor numbers, the City of Hobart is taking steps to address illegal parking and ensure emergency vehicles can access the mountain when…
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How Hobart Can Better Use Its Public Spaces
Published Mercury Newspaper Green spaces should be more than something we walk past writes Edwin Johnstone. When people think about what makes a great city, they often talk about parks, gardens and public spaces. But simply having green space isn’t enough. The best public spaces are the ones people actually use. They are places where…
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New Hotel Proposal Boosts CBD Vision
Hanging Garden expansion to bring new life to the CBD DarkLab’s proposal for a 150-room designer hotel linked to the Hanging Garden precinct by an underground tunnel is an exciting vision for Hobart’s future. Along with the broader redevelopment plans for the precinct, the project has the potential to bring more visitors into the city,…
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Collins St Bike Lane Trial Needs to End
Published Mercury Newspaper As the Collins Street bike lane trial approaches its halfway point, I believe it’s time for Hobart City Council to begin planning for its removal. The Council’s monitoring reports have not yet demonstrated the increase in cycling numbers many supporters anticipated, while the current design has reduced road capacity on one of…
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We need to build a vibrant city centre
Published Mercury Newspaper Adaptive Reuse Key to Faster CBD Housing, wtites Edwin Johnstone Hobart’s former Tasmania Police headquarters on Liverpool Street could soon be transformed into 17 apartments and a ground-floor cafe under a $5 million proposal now before Hobart City Council. This project represents exactly the sort of practical city building Hobart needs more…
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Former Police HQ Could Become CBD Apartments
The former Tasmania Police headquarters on Liverpool Street could be transformed into 17 apartments and a ground-floor cafe under a new $5 million proposal currently before Hobart City Council. The proposal is another example of the growing focus on bringing more residential activity into Hobart’s CBD through adaptive reuse of existing buildings. Projects like this…
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Retailers Under Pressure in Hobart
Published Mercury Newspaper Why seeing retail struggling in hobart’s cbd should be the canary in the coal mine. The cbd is not dead but it needs to have its confidence restored before it is too late, writes edwin johnstone When major retailers like H&M, Glue Store and Scotch & Soda leave the city, it is…
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More Medium Density Housing for Hobart
Hobart Faces Major Planning Shake-Up to Push Medium Density Housing The Tasmanian Government is proposing major changes to the planning system aimed at making it easier to build medium density housing across the state. The reforms include new apartment rules, changes to residential zones, reduced parking requirements in some areas, and higher density housing near…
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Cadbury Chocolate Experience
Hobart already has major drawcards like Museum of Old and New Art, and the proposed Macquarie Point stadium is set to add another major reason for people to visit Tasmania. Now the $150 million Cadbury Chocolate Experience in Claremont has been approved, a modern visitor attraction built around one of Tasmania’s most recognised brands and…
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TasWater Price Hike Hits Homes & Business
Published Mercury Newspaper TasWater’s proposed 11.5 percent annual increases have been cut back to 5.7 per cent a year for the next four years. That’s a significant reduction but it will still hit households and small businesses. The average household will pay about $80 more next year, while small businesses face increases over $170. At…