Cadbury Plan Wins Favour as Hobart Showgrounds Greenlit

Council approval has cleared the way for the first stage of the redevelopment of the Royal Hobart Showgrounds.

Plans to replace and renew the “haphazard” showgrounds have been in the works since at least 2020 when the Royal Agricultural Society of Tasmania appointed architects for the redesign.

Late last month, Glenorchy City Council approved the first stage of the redevelopment, as well as supporting a planning scheme amendment to allow a tourist operation at the iconic Cadbury factory at Claremont.

The first stage of the showgrounds redevelopment includes a new pavilion, theatre, auditorium, oval, plaza, public bar and cafe. 

Plans are still in the works for Stage 2 of the redevelopment, at 2 Howard Road, which would require another planning scheme amendment to allow residential development.

It is hoped the precinct will evenutally support a mix of retail and commercial spaces, including 493 homes containing 889 beds, masterplanned by BPSM.

The show society will make a separate application to the council, which will then be assessed by the Tasmanian Planning Commission.

▲ Plans for the Cadbury visitor experience at its Hobart factory include the “world’s biggest chocolate fountain”.

Meanwhile, Glenorchy Acting Mayor Russell Yaxley also agreed to prepare a planning scheme amendment to support tourist operations at the Cadbury Factory. 

The factory was built when the merger of British chocolatiers Fry’s and Cadbury’s in the early 1900s led to overseas expansion. The Claremont factory was built in 1920. 

The original visitor centre was closed in 2015.

But a $100-million vision by Simon Currant and Associates with Cadbury was announced last year, and included a 3D time tunnel, build-your-own bar, cafe, playground, dessert restaurant and emporium.

▲ The Cadbury factory in the 1920s. Image: JC Breaden, Libraries Tasmania

“While there has not been a specific application to construct a visitor centre at the factory to this point, this decision allows for the planning scheme to be amended to accommodate a tourist-based visitor experience,” Yaxley said. 

The council will prepare an amendment for consideration by the Tasmanian Planning Commission.

“The [Glenorchy Planning Authority] has determined that in preparing this amendment, there are some challenges which need to be considered through a Specific Area Plan,” Yaxley said. 

“This will ensure the applicant has clarity in taking this forward, and council has adequate ability to place necessary controls on any development.

While the visitor experience plan was “an amazing concept”, Yaxley said, “it must be done really well and with a best-practice approach given the uniqueness of the site, considering the proximity to a residential area and the history of the Cadbury factory”.