After many years serving the community as home to the Devonport Agricultural and Pastoral Society, the Devonport Showground is to be repurposed and reinvented to make another meaningful and high-quality contribution to community life. The new vision for the site would see the delivery of a high-quality, attainable and adaptable infill housing development, set amongst abundant green space and supported by purposeful health and community facilities – a place where everyone is welcome. Once fully developed, with an expected construction value of over $100 m, the site will provide for a variety of housing types to suit the needs of the community today and into the future. Moreover, it allows the enhancement of Devonport as a living, thriving place, providing a purpose-built open space and community hub with room set aside for groups who currently use the Showground, and new ones too.

The existing planning scheme provisions are not well suited to achieving the unique vision and master plan for the site. Therefore, rather than relying on a business-as-usual approach, ERA has been working closely with project partners to amend the scheme by drafting a Specific Area Plan (SAP). The SAP is inserted in the planning scheme and forms an assessment framework to ensure that development is delivered in accordance with the master plan vision. In addition to enabling the community hub and improving the variety of housing types possible on the site, amongst other outcomes, the SAP enables a density transition. The density transition will allow higher density development in the centre of the site, but will maintain amenity of the surrounding residential community by bordering the site with lower density development. Overall, this approach enables up to 290 homes to be delivered in a new urban village that is compatible with the character of the area.

The Devonport Showground Redevelopment SAP was approved by the Tasmanian Planning Commission in 2022, with detailed planning and design work now underway.