Looking to the future
Historic buildings and sites are not just important for their past but for what they will contribute in the future to our way of life, our understanding of where we come from and for their ability to provide places of quality both in their built form but also in the way they can inspire us to greater things. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than in a cathedral. Simply spending time within a building such as St David's allows us to stop, refocus and appreciate much about life and the spirit.
Buildings or the way we use them rarely stand still and St David's is no exception. It has seen change over its life and will continue to see change to accommodate new forms of worship and new activities, to be more comfortable and to include new elements.
The broad approach to the future is threefold:
- firstly to conserve and upgrade the Cathedral, the cloister and the former deanery buildings to present them in a way that is appropriate for the current and future uses and worship
- secondly to re-present the grounds to recover their setting for the cathedral buildings, to provide private open space and to create a distinct and beautiful area for the people of Hobart to enjoy, and
- thirdly to look for opportunities for future development of discrete parts of the site, principally the current carpark area, to establish future funding for the upkeep of the buildings and site and the ministry of the cathedral to the city.
The first stage of looking to the future is securing the buildings so that they will provide the focus of religious life in the city in a setting that is exceptional in its beauty and which offers hope and encouragement to Hobart.