The ACT Government has got GHD (a consultancy) doing online consultation on the Bang the Table site to ask people what they think about recommended uses of former schools. Some have development of houses, others commercial and others community uses. This is a chance to speak up and to stop the over development of these precious community sites.
http:www.bangthetable.com/communitysites
There are pages for 8 sites Cook, Weston, Melrose, Holt, Village Creek, Mt Neighbour, Rivett, and North Curtin.
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It seems so wasteful to knock down perfectly useful buildings. They should be able to recycle them as some kind of community facilities, community halls or business incubators or a mix of such things. At least some of the open land should be earmarked to remain as such, as parks or something. If they need to finance this with a small housing (high density) development, then that could be the way to go.
flogging off the lot to developers is NOT the way to go. We’ve all seen where that leads. Some more responsible, community-minded development is now needed. The gov’t must not divest itself of immediate responsibility for what happens on these sites.
It is important to retain some green space within suburbs.
The govt itself has acknowledged that Glebe Park is suffering from overuse as there is nowhere else for civic people to go.
It’s easy to take green space away and build houses on it. ONce that has happened you never get it back.
Holt oval. Once it’s built on you can’t ever get it back.
Samey same for the others.
I’d rather see tree plantings to make community parks.
Its another consultation after the plans have already been made and finalised.
Enclosed dog runs would be another great idea.
Sepi, that was my thought too, more leash-free zones.
And yeah, Special G, what’s the bet they’ve already awarded contracts after a limited tender round? That’s how this mob operates. Make decisions, get it all going, then go off to tick the “community consultation” box.
If there are any libs/ independents/ greens reading this then this is probably a vote winner.
Announce that you really will consult on the future of these sites, or better still, turn them into parks for community use. I’m certainly getting jack of our open spaces being rapidly filled in by this government.
All good point guys, I’ve reflected some of these views in my comments to the consultation site. Feel free to make your own views known there (see links above) as I think the report to the Govt will come from the feedback there.
Oh by the way – I’m crossy on the Bang the table site in case you couldnt guess! Bit of moral support over there would be good.
A small and quiet gas-turbine power station on each and every site.
You know it makes sense.
A gas turbine in every pot! Hooray!
Geez El, I’d rather see a small nuclear facility.
Now, you know that really makes sense…..
urban infill, put low cost townhouses on the school sites and be done with it; this is a chance to do something useful towards fixing canberras biggest problem (home affordability)
Yep, more high density slums, just what we need…
Like, ah, the dives near magpies at Kippax.
No doubt, every suburb should have one….
Put the slums next to the nuclear facilities and I might be able to afford one
I hear you el, me too. Bring on the slums!
Hell yeah. Perhaps a new joint nuclear/gas turbine/dragway/international airport/slum facility could be built at Tralee?
Put it in my back yard!
Maybe I’ll be able to afford a bedsitter at Tralee…
Interesting spin-wise that the consultants don’t use the word ‘school’ anywhere …
It’s easier to say ‘development’ than ‘redevelopment’ of schools.
Cook PS is already used by the community (1/2 was before the school closed). So is the Govt ‘offering’ a place to those groups who will be effectively evicted?
Idiot Govt.
Anyone seen the new mega school at Holt?
It is unbelievably big.
I shudder to think of the social problems building a school of that size is going to bring to the Holt/ Kippax region.
We all knew it would eventually reach this stage after the bizarre May 2006 Budget announcement to close nearly 40 schools (which ended up involving just over 20). This has been a clear strategy from day one: you announce that you’ll shut down schools; you let the local hoons wreck the unoccupied buildings; you claim many can’t now be reopened anyway; all along you pretend that sale was never what you had in mind; then you wait 2-3 years and you are sitting on a huge windfall. Winner – developers and the government. Losers – the community. We lose our greenspace and our valuable local school. The sooner we get rid of these clowns in the Assembly and have a 5 person council the better.
Thanks for the link, I just posted at the Bang the Table consultation thingy…
Bloody shocking example of the govt’s “consultation” process. The summary document says something about keeping the buildings for community use and removing the community use overlay on the surrounding land. If you read the detailed report, they’re actually recommending that the space between the school and preschool and shops be sold off for medium density residential use. Not the aged care accommodation or public housing that a minority of residents were happy to have (the majority wanted the open space kept for community use). Their table comparing the advantages and disadvantages of options doesn’t even include the option that they recommended. Not genuine consultation at all!
Closing schools hasn’t actually fixed the problem – the problem is bad policy, ie inequality within the public system itself caused by a no-zoning policy together with school based management.
It was too easy to close the schools – a temporary, short-sighted bandaid.
No decision should be made prior to the election. If they promise to hold off, at least this crowd might reclaim some cred. If they push the redevelopments through, they should watch out.
And I reckon no green space should be built on whatsoever – surely they have planned for aged care facilities and urban infill without having to resort to this?
I bet the decision as to what schools to close were made in consultation…. with a bunch of developers!
“these precious community sites” …. says who?
Once they were schools. With an owner. ACT Government. Theirs to sell/develop. Face facts
When they were schools they were open to residents of nearby suburbs to walk their dogs on the oval of an evening, and for kids to play football etc on weekends.
Thumper said :
I’ve got it!!
an arboretum per suburb!
There’s still some strong community feeling re a few closed schools. I think the opposition have said they’ll reopen a school or two if the community can prove such a move would be viable. Rushing the consultation might remove that option by October, and seems a little sneaky by half.
peterh said :
And the residents could take turns coming out and putting their grey water on the Wollemi Pines and then maybe they wouldn’t die.