The Tasmanian Government has released the independent review of the Tasmanian Planning Scheme's residential standards, providing strong recommendations for streamlined housing approvals.
The review, conducted by ERA Planning and Environment, recommends modernising requirements for housing approvals across Tasmania.
Minister for Housing, Planning and Consumer Affairs, Felix Ellis, welcomed the report's recommendations.
"Making the planning rules more pro-growth is key to getting more homes built, faster," Minister Ellis said.
"Upping height limits and building height bonuses for social housing are major recommendations of the report and we'll be strongly considering them.
"Planning requirements for housing developments are some of the oldest in the planning scheme, and we are committed to strong reform."
Some key recommended improvements to promote development of higher density housing types include:
* removal of the prescriptive dwelling density requirement (number of dwellings per site area) for multiple dwellings, instead relying on a combination of separate development standards (e.g. plot ratio, height, setback, etc.) to manage impacts;
* increased building heights for townhouse and apartments (up to 11m) in the Inner Residential Zone or a new expanded Urban Residential Zone;
* reductions in car parking space requirements for social housing and apartments in well-located areas (e.g. along high frequency public transport corridors in proximity to business centres; and
* potential density and building height bonuses for social housing.
"Through our Government's 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania's Future, we've been pulling out all the stops to make Tasmania's planning system fairer, faster, and simpler, and the findings of this review show that we're on track," Minister Ellis said.
"By taking a common sense approach to planning reform, like extending the Urban Growth Boundary and streamlining subdivision approvals, we will see more homes built, faster.
"We will consider all recommendations in detail and bring forward the new requirements into the Tasmanian Planning Scheme this year."
