Backyard beehives look set to surge in suburban Hobart after the council last night voted overwhelmingly to change a beekeeping bylaw
Up until now, in most instances property owners were only allowed a hive 50 metres from their nearest neighbour but that is all about to change.
Alderman Bill Harvey was instrumental in getting the ball rolling when he moved a motion two years ago to make it easier for would-be beekeepers.
"Any size area could have a beehive now," he said.
"You could have them in apartments, you could have them on your roof — we could have them on the roof of the Town Hall here if we wanted to."
Alderman Harvey said for a small block of land it came down to the discretion of the council general manager.
"But it shouldn't be a problem — it's about enabling people to have bees rather than restricting," he said.
The change in the council bylaw has been welcomed by Southern Beekeepers Association president Peter Norris.
"Our Association has gone from 23 members in about 2004 to over 240 members now, and the interest in beekeeping is just huge and growing exponentially," he said.
Mr Norris said keeping bees was crucial in the food chain with 75 per cent of our food pollinated by bees.
"We can't rely on native pollinators to produce the foods that we love to eat like stone fruit, berries and then seed crop or other vegetables," he said.
Mr Norris said the public had nothing to fear from beehives in backyards with many people unaware there are feral bee colonies about in suburban areas.
First posted
Updated
