Planning reform and heritage conservation: debating the greater good in historic Battery Point, Tasmania

This work is concerned with the merits of old and new, the pursuit of happiness and prosperity, and both self-interest and the public interest. Debates about each of these gain expression in the Benthamite idea of utility – that is, efforts to maximise the greatest good for the greatest number over time, which are foundational, if contested parts of planning. We seek to show the influence of this idea in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, focusing on Battery Point’s heritage conservation and urban development. We evaluate the effect of planning schemes developed in the 1960s and 1970s, describe state-wide reforms that led in 2015 to the supersession of the 1979 scheme, and assess its efficacy in relation to utility. Stakeholder interviews undertaken in 2015 reveal divergent views about the form development takes, residential amenity, non-residential development, public places, administration, and participation. Considered in relation to Hobart’s planning history and the philosophies underpinning it, our analysis suggests there is both widespread commitment to the precepts of utility and ongoing variation in how it is interpreted. Our work leads us to conclude that the case has wider salience for Australian planning and its many heritage precincts, where debates about the future of the past continue to challenge us.