Developers of the $50 million Fragrance hotel in Launceston must complete a plan for groundwater testing, vapour assessment, environmental risk and contamination containment before construction can start.
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The conditions were added to the final approval of the five-star, 12-storey development by the Resource Management and Planning Appeal Tribunal this week.
Both the City of Launceston and appellant, Jim Collier, approved the conditions.
The lack of these plans at the time of approval by the council formed the third ground for appeal, which was partially upheld by RMPAT.
MORE ON THE FRAGRANCE PLANS:
The groundwater testing includes a minimum of five samples at the surface and the development of three groundwater bores down gradient to test for hydrocarbons and other metals.
The contamination management plan must detail how soil would be removed from the site, where it would be stored and how the site could be remediated if contaminants are found.
In the latest Launceston Heritage Not Highrise newsletter, Mr Collier said that, despite their overall failure to prevent the hotel going ahead, it meant that the council would be required to make developers come up with similar contamination plans before approval.
"If you have any doubts if our appeal was worth all the effort, and expense, rest assured it was as without our intervention Launceston City Council, and the developers, would have got away without giving any thought whatsoever to the environmental consequences of building on what is recognised as a possibly contaminated site," he wrote.
"Any future developments anywhere in Launceston will have to include a correct site assessment for contamination - the council is now well aware of this."
The next step for Singaporean developer Global Premium Hotels would be the documentation phase, a process which can take at least six months, but possibly longer due to COVID travel restrictions.
Architect Laurie Scanlan said the approval from RMPAT was "the most important stepping stone" and he looked forward to making further progress in the New Year. He said there was no indication the project would be put on hold due to the COVID tourism downturn.
The conditional approval, first granted by RMPAT earlier this month following the appeal, came after a four-year process for Singaporean developer Global Premium Hotels. The company had failed to gain approval in Hobart, and was sent back to the drawing board in Launceston after its initial plans in 2016.