What’s Going on With all the Work Being Done at The Establishment site ?

On 12 June 2021   /   DAs, News   /   1 Comment

What’s Going on With all the Work Being Done at The Establishment site ?

A substantial temporary road has been constructed parallel to Gundaroo Drive behind the YMCA Early Childhood Centre (to be restored and rehabilitated by August 2022), an access road into the site has been built at the roundabout at the intersection of Gundaroo Drive and Gozzard Street and there’s major excavation going on. All of this, despite there being no decision on the current Development Application (DA) for the site! It’s hard not to assume the developer, Geocon, is so confident the DA will be approved they are pushing ahead … which is not a good look for the ACT government agencies responsible for approving the DA and the other works going on.

Geocon has already chopped down a tree on the site without permission and appears to have gone beyond the limits of the TCCS issued licence for limited development of the unleased Territory Land adjacent to the child care centre. The photos provide evidence of unauthorised, substantial and irreversible development and excavation works on the building site proper.

Temporary carpark/road running SW and parallel to Gundaroo Dv. There are two disabled and at best six other carparks. This road is not open yet and still fenced off.

This area is adjacent to the YMCA child care. Unsure if this is proposed outdoor play area but is currently underdeveloped with an old tractor tyre, logs, light poles and other rubbish.

Significant excavation works (looking across site to Gozzard St).

Significant site development, excavation and drilling/pile driving equipment (looking north to Gundaroo Dr).

Site boundary extends to road edge with excavation appearing to extend past block boundary up to footpath (looking south down Gozzard St).

A number of residents have contacted the GCC with similar concerns, and the GCC has also spoken with the YMCA who are struggling to manage the disruption caused by the vibration and dust created by they excavation and other work. The email response the GCC received from the Environment Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate (EPSDD) has been:

“The reconsideration of the S197 application for DA201732666 is still underway.

In regard to the works underway adjacent to Gundaroo Drive, a licence was issued by TCCS to Geocon to permit the use of this area of unleased Territory Land for a temporary road access, parking area and an outdoor play space for use by the YWCA childcare centre during the construction of the adjacent development.  This licence commenced on 18 March 2021 and will expire on 1 August 2022. I understand the access road will be on the same alignment of the old Gundaroo Road, to minimise disturbance to the trees.”

The “reconsideration” mentioned above is the third attempt to get a development application approved for ths site.

The first DA was lodged by Empire Global in 2017 when the development was known as Air Towers. Despite broad community and GCC opposition this DA was approved in 2018.  You can read more about the GCC’s concerns in these articles:

The Notice of Decision for this original DA was very subjective and raised numerous further concerns about the DA approval process as detailed in this article.

The second DA for the site was lodged in May 2020 by Geocon (who had entered into an agreement with Empire Global) and sought to make a number of relatively minor amendments to the approved DA. The GCC again strongly opposed this amended DA, and in a much more rigourous assessment by the planning authority, the amended DA was rejected:

The third DA attempt, was a request by Geocon in June 2020 to “reconsider” the decision to reject the amended DA, allowed under Section 197 (S197) of the Planning Act. Again, the GCC opposed this DA

noting in particular that:

“The documentation provided with the reconsideration contains numerous changes to the amended DA and/or original DA and reads as a further amendment and does not appear to challenge the validity of the Notice of Decision for the Amended DA.”

Further background on how the Gungahlin “Office Park” turned into residential towers can be found in this article:

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Kenny High School Development Application

On 12 June 2021   /   DAs, News   /   2 Comments

The Development Application (DA) for the Kenny High School is open for public comment until 1 July 2021. The DA is for the

“Construction of a new high school in the future suburb of Kenny. The development is for a two storey educational facility, single storey gym, landscaping, outdoor learning areas, playing fields, external courts, bicycle storage, waste centre, fencing, parking, driveway, signage, offsite and associated works.”

You can view all the details of the DA (a total of 72MB) and or provide feedback through a representation to the ACT Government’s Planning Directorate.

Some additional details from the “Statement Against Criteria”  (most of the typos are in the document):

Over the last ten years there has been significant population growth in Gungahlin through urban intensification within the Town Centre and Flemington Road corridor, as well as the establishment of several new suburbs. The resulting forecast is that by 2023 the existing school facilities within Gungahlin will reach capacity.

In order to address the demographic changes in Gungahlin, ACT Education Directorate (EDU) has undertaken several interventions from installing temporary transportable structures and building new learning communities within existing schools, to purpose—built schools in new suburbs. This project will deliver a second high school in East Gungahlin as part of this strategy in delivering high quality school facilities to the Territory.

When completed East Gungahlin High School is to accommodate in Permanent construction 800 students and up to 90 teaching and ancillary staff. At peak enrolment, the School is to accommodate up to 1000 students, with the additional capacity achieved through the Provision of temporary accommodation.

In the wider context the site is located in the east of Gungahlin, having good vehicle connectivity via Well Drive to arterial roads of Flemington Road and Horse Park Drive to connect to the Harrison School 7-10 catchment area which includes the suburbs of Forde, Throsby, Gungahlin, Harrison, Mitchell and Franklin.

Although located on edge of the new suburb of Kenny, the proposed scope of works for the Estate Development Plan of Site includes pedestrian access to the light rail corridor, connecting to the Town Centre.

There is Potential to have good pedestrian and cycle pathway to the adjacent suburbs of Harrisons, Franklin and Kenny, to promote safe travel as well as after hours community use of the school facilities

This development application is to be read in association with the New Kenny Road DA and Well Station Drive Upgrade, which include provision for bus sit-downs, emergency vehicle access, signalised intersection and pedestrian footpaths.

The School site Estate Development Plan has provisions for incoming services to the site; water ties, sewer tie, stormwater,gas tie, Telstra, NBN and government fibre and substation.

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GCC Public Meeting 9 June

On 7 June 2021   /   Meetings, News   /   Leave a comment

The next public meeting of the Gungahlin Community Council (GCC) will be held on Wednesday 9 June 2021 at the Gungahlin Club, 51 Hinder St, Gungahlin at 6.30pm. The meeting will be live streamed on Facebook via the GCC Facebook page.

Agenda

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District Planning in Gungahlin

On 1 June 2021   /   News   /   Leave a comment

The ACT Government’s Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate’s (EPSDD) ACT Planning System Review and Reform Project is a major piece of work that has been underway since 2018 to transform the ACT Planning System. This is an incredibly important piece of work given the acknowledged problems with the current planning system (eg. Dated system forces planning authority to approve imperfect developments, admits Chief Planner).

The GCC strongly encourages residents to visit the ACT Planning System Review and Reform Project website and at least look at the Overview.

One of the key proposed improvements is a new level of strategic planning in the system – District Planning – which is intended to “improve the line of sight from the Planning Strategy to the Territory Plan”.

A series of workshops across Canberra on the topic of district planning have been announced and community members are invited to have a say on planning for the future of their district.

A wide range of community members is ecouraged to participate – either online or in person. Details are as follows:

District Planning in Gungahlin
Date:Tuesday 15 June 2021
Time:6:00pm – 9:00pm
Location:Eastlake Gungahlin
Register your interest:https://yoursay.act.gov.au/act-planning-system-review-and-reform/gungahlin-district-planning

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Early designs released for road upgrades to support the future school in Kenny

On 10 May 2021   /   News   /   3 Comments
[ Content provided by TCCS]

The ACT Government is delivering the road infrastructure to support a new high school to open in 2023. This school is to be located in the new suburb of Kenny.

Transport Canberra and City Services (TCCS) will deliver this road infrastructure including:

  • extension of the Albatross Crescent (west) intersection to the south by approximately 200 metres, including a roundabout at the southern end
  • signalisation of the Well Station Drive/Albatross Crescent (west) intersection
  • signalisation of the Well Station Drive/Kings Canyon Street intersection
  • a shared-use path along Well Station Drive from Flemington Road to the proposed school entrance
  • three bus bays along the Albatross Crescent (west) extension to service the school
  • reconstruction of existing bus stops along Well Station Drive near the Albatross Crescent (west) intersection
  • other necessary upgrades to infrastructure triggered by these works, which may include noise mitigation measures.

The TCCS project team is currently working through the designs for these works and as part of this process we are commencing targeted engagement with surrounding residents, the local community and stakeholders.

High-level designs have been prepared and are available on the City Services website.

If you have any questions or comments, you can get in touch by:

  • contacting the design project manager, Michael Merange, via email at: EGHSRoadInfrastructure@indesco.com.au
  • visiting the drop-in session on: Monday 17 May 2021, 6.30 pm – 8.30 pm at the Gungahlin Library, cnr Hibberson and Gozzard Streets, Gungahlin.
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Sign The Petition to Suspend Land Sales in the Gungahlin Town Centre

On 6 May 2021   /   News   /   4 Comments

In addition to writing to the Minister for Planning, the Minister for Housing and Urban Development and the CEO of the Suburban Land Agency  Calling for the Suspension of Land Sales in the Gungahlin Town Centre, the GCC has launched an ACT Assembly petition on 4 May 2021 sponsored by Yerrabi MLA Andrew Braddock.

If you:

  • have completely lost confidence in the ACT Government planning system to deliver the employment, retail, entertainment and community services you expect within the Gungahlin Town Centre,
  • believe the current approach is dysfunctional, and the Government does not have a plan for the Gungahlin Town Centre other than more mixed-use sites that are mostly apartments,
  • want more balanced development and job creation in the Gungahlin Town Centre

then PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION.

If you would prefer not to complete the petition online please email us (info@gcc.asn.au) and we will arrange to provide you a paper copy to sign.

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GCC Public Meeting 12 May

On 28 April 2021   /   Meetings, News   /   Leave a comment

The next public meeting of the Gungahlin Community Council (GCC) will be held on Wednesday 12 May 2021 at the Gungahlin Club, 51 Hinder St, Gungahlin at 6.30pm. The meeting will be live streamed on Facebook via the GCC Facebook page.

Agenda

  • GCC Update, Peter Elford, GCC
  • Gungahlin Road and Transport Update, Chris Steele, Minister for Transport, Roads and Active Travel
  • Delivery Drone Service Update, Aleshia Thornton, Department of Infrastructure, and Jess Suskin, Wing
  • Update on Canberra Racing Club Territory Plan Variation Proposal, Kip Tanner, PLANIT

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Call to Suspend the Sale of Land within the Gungahlin Town Centre

On 27 April 2021   /   News   /   2 Comments

UPDATED 6/5/2021 – Letter to Minister Berry

UPDATED 8/5/2021 – Petition, Meetings with SLA and Minister for Housing and Urban Development

UPDATE 13/6/2021 – Statement from Minister Gentleman, Minister’s response

The GCC has written to the Minister for Planning, Minister for Housing and Urban Development and the CEO of the Suburban Land Agency (SLA) calling for the sale of further land within the Gungahlin Town Centre to be suspended until:

On 23 March 2021, the GCC invited the Minister for Planning to attend our 14 April public meeting to address a number of planning concerns. The Minister was unable to attend and was represented by senior staff from EPSDD including the Chief Planner, Ben Ponton, Leslie Cameron and Bruce Fitzgerald. Unfortunately, the meeting did not provide the answers we were seeking, and in fact raised more concerns about whether the current planning system will deliver a viable town centre for Gungahlin.

We are therefore asking the Suburban Land Agency and the Minister for Planning to suspend the proposed auction of four mixed use sites scheduled for 12 May 2021, and the sale/auction of any other sites in the town centre, until the open issues noted above are resolved.

On 4 May 2021 the GCC launched an ACT Assembly petition  sponsored by Yerrabi MLA Andrew Braddock, to formalise the GCC’s call to action regarding the development of the town centre.

If you have lost confidence in the ACT Government planning system to deliver employment, retail, entertainment and community services for the Gungahlin Town Centre PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION.

Members of the GCC executive met with John Dietz, CEO SLA and other SLA executives on 5 May 2021 to share, on behalf of Gungahlin residents, our frustrations regarding the development of the Gungahlin Town Centre. Importantly, John indicated that our concerns had been heard. He and his team provided useful background and insights regarding the development of the town centre, and the role the SLA might play in improving the processes that are within their control that impact town centre development.

The GCC received a written response from John Dietz the next day (6 May 2021) in which he stated:

  • the SLA remains committed to the sale of these sites inaccordance with the ILRP [Indicative Land Use Release Program]
  • I offer the opportunity to work with the GCC on the place making of future land releases in the GTC [Gungahlin Town Centre]. This would include engagement on how the sale of these blocks are brought to the market, the provision of open space and interface with the linear park and future public realm.

A further meeting was help with the Minister for Urban Planning (Yvette Berry) and John Dietz on Friday 7 May 2021 where we were able to brief the minister directly on some of the history that has led to the GCC taking the action we have. Most of the issues raised relate to issues with the Minister for Planning’s portfolio and the Environment Palnning and Sustainable Development Directorate (EPSDD), but the GCC was keen to stress we are seeking a whole-of-government change of approach – as the current systems and processes were not meeting the expectations of Gungahlin residents. The Minister reaffirmed the government’s intention to proceed with the sales of the 4 blocks scheduled for 12 May 2021.

On 11 May the Minister for Planning, Mick Gentleman, delivered a Ministerial Statement on Planning in the Gungahlin Town Centre. The GCC was looking for a new approach from the government to address the issues we’ve raise but this response (if it is a response) indicates the Minister for Planning believes everything is fine. Even the chief planner acknowledges the planning system is broken … and it’s being demonstrated in the Gungahlin town centre. The statement makes numerous  assertions that are untrue (it was the GCC that initiated the town centre planning refresh – not the government) and is completely underwhelming in it’s committment to actioning Suzanne Orr’s motion (response “before the lasr sitting day of this year – 2 December).

The GCC received a response from the Minister for Planning to our letters of 23 March and 27 April on 6 June. The letter states that the Standing Committee’s review into DV364 may take 6 months. There was no acknowledgement of the community concerns or a sense of urgency to address them.

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Moncrieff Rabbit Control Program – April 2021

On 9 April 2021   /   News   /   Leave a comment
[ Posted on behalf of the Suburban Land Agency ]

What are we [ the SLA ] doing?

A rabbit control program is taking place in Moncrieff, in the open space area nearby the Amaroo District Playing Fields and the natural creek line that divides the two areas (Block 3, Section 81). The closest residential streets are Fretwell Street and Malton View. A shared footpath provides pedestrian access through this area and along the edge of the suburb.

There are over 80 rabbit warrens in the area, generally located in the naturalised, hilly landscape along the shared footpath. In residential areas, rabbits are required to be controlled.

The control program is considered under the nationally-agreed Model Code of Practice for the Humane Control of Rabbits.

When is the control program taking place?

The control program will take place over several days, week commencing 12 April 2021 and will take approximately two weeks to undertake, weather permitting.

How is the control program carried out?

The rabbit control program will be direct fumigation by diffusion of aluminum phosphine tablets placed directly into the warrens and sealed immediately. The fumigation of warrens is considered one of the most target specific means of rabbit control available. The program is being carried out by professionals who are qualified for rabbit control.

What do you need to do?

Please avoid the area during the control program. If you are in the area, please keep your dog on a lead at all times and stay on designated footpaths. Keep clear of any rabbit warrens.

Questions?

For further information please contact Suburban Land Agency on 6205 4016 or visit the EPSDD Rabbit Control program.

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GCC Public Meeting 14 April

On 9 April 2021   /   Meetings, News   /   1 Comment
GCC Public Meeting 14 April

The next public meeting of the Gungahlin Community Council (GCC) will be held on Wednesday 14 April 2021 at the Gungahlin Club, 51 Hinder St, Gungahlin at 6.30pm.

On 23 March the GCC wrote to the Minister for Planning, Mick Gentleman, inviting him to respond to three current issues:

  • Draft Variation 364
    The GCC asks that you ensure the recommendations of the Gungahlin Town Centre Planning Refresh are implemented as a matter of urgency, either by resolving the issues with DV364 or another mechanism.
  • The ACT Assembly Motion on Gungahlin Town Centre Development
    The GCC asks that you describe what the process and timeline will be for responding to the Development of the Gungahlin Town Centre Motion, with a specific focus on how it will engage with the community
  • Assessment of Community and Recreation Facilities in Gungahlin
    The GCC asks that you provide a clear statement of the objectives of the Assessment of Community and Recreation Facilities in Gungahlin, an overview of the activities EPSDD are undertaking to deliver the outcomes, how you are ensuring that you gather a complete set of requirements, and what processes/policies will be informed by this work.

The Minister himself is unable to attend the meeting and will be represented by the ACT Chief Planner and senior staff from the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate (EPSDD).

Background information on these issues can be found at the following links:

Agenda

  • GCC Update, GCC President
  • Gungahlin Town Centre Planning and Development, Draft Variation 364 and ACT Assembly Motion, Ben Ponton, ACT Chief Planner and Director-General of the ACT’s Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate (EPSDD), Lesley Cameron, Planning and Urban Policy, EPSDD
  • Assessment of Community and Recreation Facilities in Gungahlin, Bruce Fitzgerald, Development and Implementation, EPSDD

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