Building in Acacia Hills
Rural lifestyle blocks in the Kentish heartland — 729 residents, 16 km south of Devonport, 20 minutes from Sheffield, with views toward the Central Ranges.
Rural Kentish Lifestyle
Acacia Hills sits in the Kentish municipal area, approximately 16 kilometres south of Devonport on the plateau between Spreyton and Lower Barrington. It is a small rural residential community — 729 people per the 2021 Census — characterised by lifestyle blocks, pastoral farmland, and views toward the Central Ranges. The appeal is direct: space, outlook, and quiet, at a price point that urban and coastal Tasmania cannot match.
The community has its own primary school, which draws families seeking a rural upbringing within commuting distance of Devonport's services and employment. Most properties are in the one-to-five hectare range — large enough for a serious garden, an orchard, or small-scale grazing, but not so large as to be unmanageable. The B14 Sheffield Road connects the area directly to Sheffield to the south and Spreyton to the north, making Devonport's retail and services accessible in under 20 minutes.
For home builders, Acacia Hills offers the kind of rural site that is increasingly hard to find: a realistic land price, manageable site conditions, and a council planning framework that is workable for residential development. Those who build here are choosing the rural lifestyle deliberately — space, views, and clean air over suburban convenience.
Davies has been building in the Kentish area since 2009. Our Sheffield workshop is 20 to 25 minutes south, which means our team, our trades, and our supply chain are all calibrated to building well in this part of the world. We understand the climate — cold winters, warm summers, and the moisture patterns of the Central Plateau foothills — and we design thermal envelopes to perform in it.
Why People Choose Acacia Hills
Lifestyle Blocks with Room to Breathe
Properties in Acacia Hills are predominantly one to five hectares — large enough for serious gardens, small orchards, or a few animals, but not so large as to dominate your time. It's the size of property that suits families who want genuine rural character without taking on a full farming operation.
20 Minutes to Devonport
Devonport's retail, hospitals, schools, and the Spirit of Tasmania ferry terminal are accessible in under 20 minutes from Acacia Hills via Spreyton. The community sits on the edge of meaningful distance — rural enough to feel it, close enough to use the city without planning ahead.
Exceptional Passive Solar Sites
The open plateau character of Acacia Hills, with blocks typically oriented north-west across rural land, provides excellent passive solar opportunities. A well-designed home here can capture winter sun deeply while managing summer shading — the kind of site that makes high-performance thermal design genuinely effective.
Agricultural Surrounds
The broader Kentish area is productive agricultural country — small farms, market gardens, and orchards that supply Devonport and further afield. Living in Acacia Hills means access to local produce, a working rural landscape, and the rhythms of a community built around land and seasons.
Primary School and Community
Acacia Hills Primary School anchors the community for families. The school draws together residents from across the surrounding rural area, creating genuine social infrastructure in what would otherwise be a dispersed rural setting. Community halls and local events give the area more cohesion than its small population might suggest.
Views of the Central Ranges
The elevated plateau position of many Acacia Hills properties provides expansive views south toward the Central Ranges — and on clear days, the outline of Cradle Mountain itself. It's a visual connection to one of Tasmania's defining landscapes, available from your living room on an ordinary Tuesday morning.
What to Know About Building in Acacia Hills
Acacia Hills falls under Kentish Council, which administers the Tasmanian Planning Scheme — Kentish Local Provisions Schedule (commenced 26 March 2025, replacing the Kentish Interim Planning Scheme 2013). Applications are lodged with and assessed by Kentish Council. Here's what prospective builders need to understand:
- Most rural residential land in Acacia Hills is in the Rural Living zone. This zone sets minimum lot sizes, building envelopes, and setbacks from internal boundaries, road reserves, and rural land. Development that meets the zone standards and has no discretionary triggers can often proceed as a permitted use — but site-specific conditions matter.
- Reticulated sewerage is not available to most properties in Acacia Hills. An onsite wastewater system — either conventional septic or an Aerated Wastewater Treatment System (AWTS) — will be required. Budget $15,000–$30,000 for this, and confirm that the specific allotment has been assessed for wastewater disposal before you purchase.
- Vegetation removal and earthworks may require planning approval depending on the extent and the specific overlays applying to the site. Significant native vegetation, waterway setbacks, and slope can all trigger permit requirements. Check the PlanBuild Tasmania enquiry service for the specific overlays before you buy.
- Road access can affect what you can build. Properties accessing from rural roads or formed tracks may need to demonstrate that access is safe and appropriately constructed. Council may require road upgrades or contributions as a condition of development approval.
- The Kentish climate is cool-temperate with cold winters: frosts are common from April through September, and the Central Ranges contribute meaningful rainfall and cloud cover. A high-performance thermal envelope — highly insulated, airtight, north-facing passive solar — is the right response to this climate and delivers genuine comfort with minimal ongoing energy cost.
- Acacia Hills is 20 to 25 minutes from our Sheffield base via the B14. We've been building in Kentish since 2009 — we know the planning team, the local trades, and what good design looks like on a rural block in this specific landscape.
A rural block in Acacia Hills, built well, is a genuine long-term asset. The combination of a working lifestyle, accessible location, and a high-performance home that actually performs in the Kentish climate is a compelling proposition. We'd welcome a conversation about what's achievable on your specific site.
Davies Projects in the Region
Our portfolio spans the Kentish region and the wider north and north-west of Tasmania — each project a demonstration of high-performance design built for the Tasmanian climate.
Acacia Hills Building FAQ
What is Acacia Hills like to live in?+
How much does it cost to build in Acacia Hills?+
What are the planning requirements for building in Acacia Hills?+
Does Davies Construction build in Acacia Hills?+
Also building in