History of planning reforms

Introduction

The arrival of Europeans in Tasmania introduced a profoundly different approach to land and land use.

Indigenous people did not see land as a lifeless object to be owned. Instead, they considered land to be alive, and they saw themselves as custodians of it. Without an economic system based on the idea of profit, they had no need or desire to develop land. Instead, they carefully managed the land to maintain the other species which provided them with all their daily needs, and also their spiritual needs.

The start of European settlement, in the north at Georgetown and then in the south at Hobart, imposed a different system of land ownership and later, development. Individuals could own a specific plot of land, and they had the right to use it in (almost) anyway they liked. Government surveyors laid out towns and villages. The government kept a record of all the lots created, and all its owners over time. This is the basis of the property system we all know.

Planning, as we understand it today, did not really develop in Tasmania until the middle of the twentieth century. The first modern planning legislation was the Town and Country Planning Act introduced in 1944, and Hobart’s first metropolitan plan was exhibited in 1946.

Regional planning

The next major development was the commitment to make regional plans.

Regional planning was introduced with the intention that the contents would shape local town planning schemes and improve their consistency. The process of regional collaboration assisted councils to address common issues between them. While this process had wide benefits, there were still variations. For example, wetter parts of the state needed to develop more policies and regulations to manage stormwater and flooding than drier areas.

The three Regional Land Use Strategies were adopted in 2011.

The Tasmanian Planning Scheme (TPS)

The creation of the regional land use plans also led to the making of the TPS; the current focus of planning reform.

Interim schemes followed the regional plans and helped to improve consistency in planning decision making. However, in the mid-2010s, it was decided to transition to a single scheme.

Work began on drafting the State Planning Provisions (SPPs) in 2016. These were mainly based on the existing interim schemes, and some new provisions were added. This created the current 23 zones and 16 codes, with the option of particular purpose zones, special area plans or site-specific qualifications. These allow for customised controls in truly unique areas.

The TPS starts to operate in a council when they have made their Local Provisions Schedule (their local planning scheme) and it has been approved by the Tasmanian Planning Commission.

Burnie was the first council to adopt the TPS in July 2020.