Simon Corbell has announced his thoughts on where the big shops are going to be in the new Molonglo development (known to planning nerds as a “community focused group centre”).
He’d also like to get yours.
“The Molonglo Valley is an exciting new development for the ACT and it is imperative that we get the views of [...]

The Director General, or his delegate, of the ACT Governments Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate and Mr Craig Simmons will be our speakers for the May public meeting of the Belconnen Community Council. The ESDD aims to lead the Territory in developing and implementing targeted policies and programs that address environment protection and sustainability, nature [...]

The Greens’ Caroline Le Couteur is expressing her pleasure that development proposals will have to be communicated better to the neighbours:
“These amendments give a better balance to the rights of residents to be informed and have a say in developments that affect them with the need for an efficient planning system,” said Caroline Le [...]

The ABC have the news that, in a further prostitution of the budget process as the spinners turn, an extra $12 million for the National Capital Authority is coming tonight, spread over 4 years, and predicated on “simplifying” planning controls on national land.
Regional Australia Minister Simon Crean says the NCA must resolve confusion about [...]

The ACT Taxation Review is now online as is the Government response.
Recommendations agreed or agreed in Principle are:
– Recommendation 1
Adopt taxation instruments and settings that deliver stable revenue growth proportionate with economic growth.
– Recommendation 2
With regards to long term structural reform, over a period of time that is adequate for appropriate transition:
a) abolish duty on [...]

I’ve had a quick look through the thread’s but haven’t been able to find anything – Anyone got any knowledge on the work currently going on in the Kingston shopping precinct? They’ve ripped out all the shopfronts on the corner of Giles and Kennedy streets, and I think they are doing something on the corner [...]

Caller to 666 talkback this morning outlined what we’ve sort of known, but have never had quite such firm evidence.
Caller lives near a small park in Chisholm. He said that the local residents were invited to contribute their thoughts on a proposal to develop the park with residential accommodation to a website (ACT Govt [...]

Liberal Leader Zed Seselja is pointing out that Canberra median house prices are now the most expensive in the nation (despite our leading housing affordabilty and multi point plans, how can this be?) while builders are going on strike after having been asked to give some of their windfall profits back to the community.
“ACT Labor [...]

Simon Corbell has announced the referral of Draft Variation 306 to the Standing Committee on Planning, Public Works and Territory and Municipal Services.
(If you’re fortunate enough to have avoided the DV processes thus far they relate to planning laws, which means what your house will look like and how much it will cost.)
“DV 306 to [...]

Hello from the Inner South Canberra Community Council
We are being consulted!
If you aren’t happy with the current unsatisfactory process of how you might get to know about what’s being built near you, you can have a say in the new guidelines for new consultation requirements.
All are welcome to come to the Inner South Canberra Community [...]

Andrew Barr is very excited that the Land Development Agency has been gonged for its affordable housing in Bonner:
I congratulate the staff of the Land Development Agency (LDA) for winning the prestigious and highly competitive Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) National Award for Affordable Development at the 2012 Awards for Excellence.
The award was presented [...]

Does the Canberra public know about the ACT Government’s plans to build hundreds of flats abutting Anzac Parade, and that there’s an information session on 6 March?
Check the nca.gov.au website and also google “section 5″ and “anzac parade” for a wealth of links, including a PDF that shows that the flats are going to [...]

The Greens have

Back in November the Greens were furious about Government efforts to end planning appeals to Kingston Foreshore developments. They were concerned the moves would limit their ability to get involved in the Kingston Arts Precinct.
Yesterday it appears a compromise was reached which, unusually, pleased all parties.
First the Greens’ Caroline Le Couteur was happy, with some [...]

Joy Burch is letting people know that the redevelopment of the dreaded ABC Flats is getting a meeting to express your feelings at:
“The proposal for the redevelopment will see a major injection of residential units and commercial activity in this precinct, as well as the retention of some public housing stock,” Ms Burch said.
“The Government [...]

Andrew Barr has announced that as you can’t agree on what you want at Hawker shops there shan’t be any development at all.
I am announcing that I have placed a three-year moratorium on any ACT Government sponsored development at the Hawker Group Centre.
The moratorium is a commonsense decision, which will give everyone time to reflect [...]

Yesterday’s blazing row between the ACT Treasurer Andrew Barr and the Canberra Times has entered a second day.
Noel Towell has been put on the case and has had a chat to the Chief Minister on the issues.
Oddly enough no mention is made of the fireworks on facebook or Twitter.
But Barr is not content with the [...]

The Greens’ Shane Rattenbury is letting us know he’s very happy the size of the new suburb or Throsby has been whittled down to protect Superb parrot habitat:
“This is welcome news, and I believe it reflects the values of the Bush Capital, that we must protect out natural environment as development of our city occurs,” [...]

Overnight the Canberra Times Ewa Kretowicz was quoting a spokesperson of Andrew Barr on plans to speed up the development of the Brumbies headquarters into lucrative inner south apartments:
Acting planning minister Andrew Barr was reviewing the lease conditions at the ACT Brumbies rugby club in ”the public interest”, his spokesman said last night. If [...]

It has become a real community eyesore and environmental hazard with lots of loose iron flapping in the breeze.
With a real gust of wind the iron will end up on cars in the Jamison Plaza carpark or in neighbouring gardens or in the adjacent children’s playground.
The development proposal for the site is for [...]

The ABC has the amusing news that the Griffith-Narrabundah Community Association would like the Brumbies Griffith HQ if the club isn’t going to use it for the footballing purposes it was intended for.
An ACT Legislative Assembly committee is examining the Club’s proposal to rezone its Griffith headquarters to allow for the development of up [...]

Shane Rattenbury is celebrating victory in his campaign to get biodiversity and connectivity data into the ACT’s electronic mapping system, ACTMAPi.
“I am pleased to see that finally, after the ACT Greens calling for this for 6 years, a layer of key information about biodiversity and ecological connectivity will be just one click away in the [...]

Article in the Canberra Times this morning proudly promotes a footbridge to a proposed “private island” of exclusive residences, with no public spaces as far as I can tell (there is little information online).
It has been funded by the Land Development Agency as “part of almost $18 million it is spending on the public [...]

Yesterday we noted that the Economic Development Directorate had taken the unusual step of asking Canberrans to vote on how they’d like new supermarkets in Dickson to be developed.
But it did not take long for numerous readers to report problems with the poll.
#6 poetix
3:59 pm, 22 Nov 11
I just voted at the site and the [...]

The Economic Development Directorate is setting a potentially dangerous precedent by asking the public for their votes on a development issue.
The Dickson Centre Master Plan was released in May 2011 following extensive consultation with the community. It included a number of sites for future supermarket and retail development in the Dickson Group Centre.
The Master Plan [...]

Simon Corbell has announced a new bill setting out the hoops developers need to jump through to show the community doesn’t hate their plans.
“The proposed laws require community consultation before development applications are formally lodged and will also require signs to be displayed on building sites to let the public know more about proposed building [...]

Belconnen Market developments – three towers planned on one block on the corner of Belconnen and Benjamin ways. Two towers of 8 levels and one tower of 16 levels – have developers just got greedy at the detriment of those living in the local areas?

The LDA has more information on its plans to turn a dusty field in Campbell into a thriving metropolitan hub no doubt stuffed full of Defence types.
The design boards are very impressive.

Simon Corbell has announced the start of a Master Plan for the Weston Group Centre (Cooleman Court to the likes of you and me).
“The community’s knowledge about the centre and ideas for its future are important to us as we develop a master plan that will guide the centre’s development over the next 20 to [...]

I have lived on Majura Avenue for over 30 years. Many Majura Avenue dwellers are now being hounded by the traffic authorities to stop parking on their own nature strips.
This is a long standing problem which has now been exacerbated by: the increasing and inappropriate use of Majura Avenue as an arterial road; the development [...]

The Liberals’ Brendan Smyth is sharing his concern that the Property Council is surveying itself to find they’d like to pay less tax.
The findings show that dwindling confidence in the ACT property sector and wider economy is due to a range of local factors, including:
– The planning system;
– general business conditions;
– the high level of [...]

Earlier this month it was suggested that Calwell is full of jerks.
Today it’s the centre of controversy in the Legislate Assembly.
The Greens have celebrated their amendment of a Liberal motion surrounding the suburb:
“Today the Canberra Liberals presented a motion to the Assembly to prevent the development of much needed aged care facilities for [...]