By Emily Smith

Copyright abc

Janice Miller is waiting to breathe a sigh of relief.

The resident of Evandale, in northern Tasmania, has spent years trying to dissuade Sydney-based developers from building a large housing estate outside her historic town.

Last month, the local council refused to move forward with a rezoning request that would facilitate the project.

But the developer, Traders In Purple, is expected to ask the Tasmanian Planning Commission to review that decision.

‘It would sprawl out’

Evandale is famous for its annual penny-farthing races, Sunday markets and heritage-listed Georgian architecture.

When Traders In Purple revealed plans in 2018 to double the size of the community, with a new suburb over 242 hectares of agricultural land, many residents raised concerns.

Ms Miller said that even in the grips of a housing crisis, new development should always be guided by good planning.

She pointed out Evandale already had land available for development.

“Let’s fill those spaces up first, and then if there’s a need in the future, we can look at incrementally pushing out from the village,” she said.

She also believed agricultural land should be kept for food production and worried the large development would impact the “fabric of the community”.

“It wouldn’t be connected with the existing village because it would sprawl out,” she said.

“The village would be congested with a lot of traffic all the time.

Although Traders In Purple put its Evandale land on the market this year, it also moved forward with a smaller, but still sizeable, vision — 263 allotments over 80 hectares.

“[The project] meets the community’s primary objectives — new housing that preserves the unique village character of Evandale for a sustainable town future,” it said.

The company said there would be areas of public open space, spots for local business, and two community-purpose areas for aged care, childcare and medical facilities.

But it would require land rezoning first.

Last month, Northern Midlands councillors refused to initiate that process.

‘There is a housing crisis’

A community survey, prior to the council decision, found 98 per cent of respondents remained opposed to the development.

But Northern Midlands Mayor Mary Knowles said it was rejected for various reasons.

She said they worried how it would fit with an upcoming planning scheme review, and noted construction trucks would not be able to bypass the town, creating traffic issues.

“So that the infrastructure and the historical elements of those towns are not impacted.”

She said TasWater had advised most of the land was outside its serviced area for water and sewerage and it had no plans to expand.

She also said many residents raised concerns about its potential impact on the vulnerable green and gold frog.

While she said some of the community was elated by council’s refusal, a local school and other residents had supported the project.

“And we do have precious little historic communities.

“But to keep these communities viable, we also need families there to keep the schools viable. So all sides need to be considered.”

Traders In Purple recently led a housing development at Kingston in the state’s south.

A spokesperson told the ABC the council’s decision was “disappointing” and it planned to request a review from the Tasmanian Planning Commission.

It said the Evandale land remained on the market.

The Tasmanian Planning Commission said it had not yet received a request to review the Northern Midlands Council decision.