Steel presses ahead with plans for 1300 new homes in North Curtin on 'Gateway' corridor

More than 1300 homes will be built on the Territory portion of the North Curtin horse paddocks under plans being prepared by the ACT Government.

The move to progress planning for the 10-hectare strip of land next to Yarra Glen Drive comes as the government looks to speed up the release of more land to boost the housing supply in the ACT.

It is also preparing for North Curtin and other land along the future light rail route from the City to Woden to be brought under a new planning framework along the same lines developed for Northbourne Avenue.

A community survey now open on the design of what the government is calling the North Curtin Residential Area will also be included in another consultation over the next two years on the development of this new draft Southern Gateway Planning and Design Framework.

The new survey follows a government consultation last year run by consultancy Communication Link to provide a guide to future development.

Planning Minister Chris Steel said the survey feedback would contribute to the draft Planning Conditions for the North Curtin Residential Area, which would be used to assess future development applications for the site.

He said the North Curtin land had the potential to supply up to 1300 badly needed townhouses and multi-unit dwellings.

“We want to hear from the community about what is important in terms of urban design, landscape design, built form, access and design quality on the site,” Mr Steel said.

“With its location on a major transport corridor, this is a significant opportunity to develop a high-quality residential neighbourhood that is sustainable and vibrant with quality public streets and spaces.”

Mr Steel said the draft Southern Gateway Planning and Design Framework would guide future development along Canberra’s southern transport corridor from the City to Woden where light rail Stage 2B is planned.

This would would be in much the same way as the City and Gateway Design Framework was established in 2018 in Canberra’s north ahead of the completion of light rail Stage 1 from Gungahlin to the City.

“In the future, we will be engaging with the community on the principles of growth and development of more housing, public spaces and infrastructure along the light rail 2B corridor, including Adelaide Avenue and Yarra Glen Drive,” Mr Steel said.

In a snipe at the Opposition’s public transport policy, Mr Steel said that unlike buses, light rail could unlock significant land-use benefits with opportunities for better connections to public transport, new housing, commercial activity as well as improvements to landscape, streets and public spaces.

“We’ve already seen the land-use benefits along the Northbourne corridor and we want to work with the community to develop design guidance for the Southern corridor so that we can maximise the benefits to the community,” he said.

Mr Steel’s plans depend on the outcome of the October election.

The Canberra Liberals have pledged, if they win power, to ditch Stage 2B in favour of expanding bus services, including an electric fleet and a busway using the existing roads between the City and Woden.

In 2020, the Liberals were scathing about the government’s controversial land deal with the Commonwealth in which it ceded 70 per cent of the horse paddocks for a diplomatic estate in exchange for 2.8 ha of lake bed at West Basin for the Acton Waterfront development.

But the Liberals’ new public transport policy appears to take into account the proposed North Curtin housing estate and other possible housing sites by including possible bus stops at Curtin, Yarralumla and Deakin.

In 2020, the NCA rezoned the horse paddock land for its diplomatic estate, and for housing on the ACT portion, although it retained ultimate planning control.

The government says the feedback from the North Curtin survey will be lodged with the NCA towards the end of the financial year, before final planning controls are determined.

This will build on the principles laid out in the Woden District Strategy released in November 2023.

A referral is also in progress with the Federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) to assess potential environmental impacts.

The government says the new framework will be a part of Mr Steel’s Statement of Planning Priorities bringing transport and land-use planning together to supply more housing close to public transport corridors and improve public places.

It will be developed in consultation with the NCA.

Canberrans can complete the survey on the North Curtin Residential Area on the YourSay website, closing on 11 June.