Construction starts on new emergency services station for Molonglo Valley

First came the announcement it would be a town centre, and now the first sod has been turned on a new state-of-the-art $70 million emergency services station for Molonglo Valley.

The ACT Government allocated $65.9 million for the construction of a new emergency station in the 2023/24 Budget, to be located along the Cotter Road (between John Gorton Drive and Steve Irwin Avenue).

And on Friday (6 December), newly minted ACT Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services Marisa Paterson joined ACT Fire & Rescue’s Glenn Brewer and ACT Ambulance’s Howard Wren to turn the first sods.

“We recognise that Molonglo Valley is growing rapidly, which is why we are strongly committed to delivering on the infrastructure to support community safety and wellbeing,” Dr Paterson said.

At the moment, the Molonglo Valley is serviced by stations in Kambah and Phillip but the district has been earmarked to get its own since 2019.

The district, which includes the suburbs of Coombs, Wright, Denman Prospect, Whitlam and Molonglo, is expected to be home to more than 70,000 people by 2050 – beating projections for even the city centre and Woden.

“This new station has been tailored in its design to meet the unique local needs of Molonglo Valley and will ensure our first responders have the facilities they need to respond swiftly and most effectively to incidents in the area,” she added.

It will also boast features “to cater to the local suburban area” – including a 4WD all-terrain ambulance – a nod to the fact it’s not far from remote bushland areas like Mount Stromlo and the Cotter.

ACT Ambulance chief officer Mr Wren said the facility will “fulfil a number of roles for us”.

“Obviously, the increasing population in this area needs to be serviced, but over the last five years, the ambulance service in general has had a significant increase in staff and resources, and we need additional facilities for accommodation as well,” he said.

“And as was highlighted earlier, we’re going to locate a number of specialised vehicles here, including the 4WD ambulance, because of the proximity to the bushland and rural areas.”

ACT Fire & Rescue Mr Brewer reiterated it was “very important” to continue to make sure Canberra’s emergency services response times keep pace with the city’s growth.

As for police, the Canberra Liberals promised to build a new police station for Molonglo Valley – and staff it with 200 new officers – if they won the October election.

This was followed shortly afterwards by a commitment from ACT Labor to also build a police station in the district, alongside a new child and family centre and “working hub” for ACT Government staff (on top of plans for a library and community centre).

Ms Paterson said this remains the plan.

“That process will take a bit of time given it will be located in the town centre, and there’s still consultation going on about that at the moment, asking residents for their views and perspectives on what a town centre should look like,” she said.

“So that project is absolutely on the cards and will happen, but it’s still a way off.”

Elsewhere in Canberra, work is underway on a new emergency services station in Acton, on the corner of Parkes Way and Clunies Ross Street, set to open in the first half of the new year. Planning and design work are also being done for a new station in northwest Gungahlin.

“We have a view ahead to look at where the population is going,” Mr Brewer added.

“This is a very good example – we see that the need here is in Molonglo, and we started some years ago planning this particular station, and here we are. This area’s still got a long way to go as far as development goes and we’re well positioned to be able to deal with that.”

The Molonglo Valley’s new emergency services station is expected to open in mid-2026.