12 March 2010

Collaboration produces positive community outcome

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The Village Building Company, North Canberra Community Council, Friends of Mount Majura, Watson Community Association and The Conservation Council ACT Region have reached an agreement on additional conservation and traffic measures to mitigate impacts to areas around the proposed North Watson Heritage Village estate.

This has removed the necessity for an appeal of ACTPLA’s Development Approval for 316 homes in the estate. The development was approved by ACTPLA on February 4 subject to third party appeal.

The Village Building Company has held a series of very constructive meetings with representatives of the above community groups over the past two weeks, resulting in a mutual agreement with regard to mitigating the potential environmental and traffic impacts of the proposed project.

Bob Winnel from Village Building said: “The outcomes of these meetings will benefit the broader North Canberra community. The Village Building Company recognises that a healthy natural and built environment is vital to achieving its sustainability objectives for the site at North Watson and we are pleased to be able to work with the community representatives to address their concerns in a constructive and agreed manner.”

Collectively, Village Building and the community groups will be redirecting significant resources that would have otherwise been employed during a lengthy appeals process into producing positive community outcomes. Agreed initiatives include the establishment of a walking trail and interpretive displays in the Mt Majura Nature Reserve, subject to ACT Government approval, the establishment of an enforceable community pet containment policy, and the active engagement and education of community residents to create awareness of, and appropriate behaviour in environmentally sensitive areas of the Reserve.

The North Canberra Community Council and Village Building have also agreed to work with government and other developers to improve future consultation processes to avoid last minute negotiations following the approval of Development Applications.

Jochen Zeil, Chair of the North Canberra Community Council said: “This result is good for all concerned. While the NCCC remains generally concerned about the long-distance effects of large scale developments, we have, through open discussion, been able to align our objectives and we can now get on with minimising the inevitable local traffic impacts and the environmental impacts to the Mt Majura Nature Park. Given the development approval, it is a good outcome for the local community”.

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>the establishment of an enforceable community pet containment policy,

What discrimination to the rest of the Canberra that backs upon a nature reserve/park? Pigs might fly if the new residents will adhere to it.

>and the active engagement and education of community residents to create awareness of, and appropriate behaviour in environmentally sensitive areas of the Reserve.

See above

James-T-Kirk10:37 pm 12 Mar 10

Oh – Whoopsies – I forgot to ask….. Where was THAT mentioned in the report above????

James-T-Kirk10:34 pm 12 Mar 10

Gungahlin Al said :

So JTK and TS, you have a problem with that? The equivalent would be a subdivision wants to build next to an industrial estate, and expects the industrial uses to demolish everything in the first couple hundred metres of existing uses so the new development could be appropriately buffered from nasty noise and fumes. Just as daft a proposition.

What should be asked is how successful were NCCC at achieving this aim, or a suitable alternative, not the smartaleck drivel we’ve had from you two so far.

I don’t live up north, so I don’t give a rats.

But – The effectiveness of the firebreak is directly related to the value of the blocks of land that now wont be sold (yet…)

but – Seriously – WTF has changed……..

Gungahlin Al4:13 pm 12 Mar 10

It is a building project immediately adjacent to a nature reserve, and North Canberra resident understandably are zealous about protecting it.

One of the key issues NCCC had with this DA was that it made no provision for buffering to the nature reserve within its own boundary. Instead it was banking on a buffer being maintained by TaMS *within* the nature reserve, with this buffer to serve the dual purposes of protecting the development from bushfire and the reserve from weed incursions etc from the development.

So JTK and TS, you have a problem with that? The equivalent would be a subdivision wants to build next to an industrial estate, and expects the industrial uses to demolish everything in the first couple hundred metres of existing uses so the new development could be appropriately buffered from nasty noise and fumes. Just as daft a proposition.

What should be asked is how successful were NCCC at achieving this aim, or a suitable alternative, not the smartaleck drivel we’ve had from you two so far.

James-T-Kirk said :

I agree about the token symbols….

So – where do I send this $50K worth of scrap metal… Oh — Art?

Put it next to the other pile of scrap metal by the side of the GDE.

James-T-Kirk1:45 pm 12 Mar 10

I agree about the token symbols….

So – where do I send this $50K worth of scrap metal… Oh — Art?

troll-sniffer12:29 pm 12 Mar 10

Little men and women with little to do but poke their noses into other people’s business are often appeased by token symbols giving the appearance of conceding to their demands to be counted amongst people who matter. It seems Bob has mollified this particular group by offering such tokens, probably a smart move.

The NIMBYs can waddle off back to their closets and telescopes and look for further disruptions to their closeted little lives.

James-T-Kirk11:57 am 12 Mar 10

Where do I submit my design for this “Interpretive Display” – That’s gota cost about $50 in steel, and sell for $30K…

James-T-Kirk10:25 am 12 Mar 10

What a crock of Namby Pamby Rubbish!!!!

This is a BUILDING project. Not a touchy environmental thing!

The original objections (as reported in the news) were around extra houses, and the increased fire danger – But this is not included in the list.

Instead, we have “Established a walking trail and interpretive display, and done some wrangling to keep pets indoors…… How is the NCCC going to keep the pets of residents of the approx 3000+ homes already around Mt Majura indoors?????

And – What are the traffic measures???????? Walking?

As I indicated – what a crock!

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