22 September 2011

Surprise, surprise. Giralang shops likely delayed, again.

| Rollersk8r
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The CT brings word the usual suspects are taking EVERYONE to court over Simon Corbell’s approval of the Giralang shops redevelopment. And this may add 2 years to a process that’s already taken 7.

Personally I think this is astonishing. For once the planning minister has said this nonsense has gone on far too long and has made a decision. Yet those opposed still get their way – indefinite delays – via the legal system.

As a Giralang resident the size or brand of the shops is the least of my worries. People of the area who are opposed to this – and I’m talking genuine Giralang and Kaleen residents who do not have a commercial interest – need to step back and have a look at the bigger picture. No development is going to satisfy 100% of people. So after 7 or 9 years are you happy for the business interests to keep fighting it out until the proposal is perfect in your eyes, or do you actually want some facilities in the suburb sometime in the foreseeable future??

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“The DA before this one was approved. It was appealed to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and then withdrawn”

Yes and it was the second time the developer withrew from ACAT. Obviously they know their plan does not comply. I can’t understand why GRAG continually support something that doesn’t comply.

The Giralang residents deserve better from their association…The association should support something which is sustainable for all concerned. There were several Giralang residents who also objected to the proposal at ACAT.

Blind Freddy could see the call-in was dodgy (for technical reasons, not any reason of logic or need).

If ACTPLA had some gumption, they would have just approved the DA (with out without conditions) and then let it go to appeal in ACAT and the whole thing resolved.

ACAT has a time limit on appeals, and so the whole thing could have been over in a few months. But a Supreme Court appeal could take years.

Another gold star to the ACT government.

I think it’s disgusting that the site has been allowed to sit and decay for several years so it’s an eyesore and no doubt unsafe….right in front of a primary schooll!!!!!! There should be some sort of penalty imposed for this and perhaps things might speed up and we might get some shops this century….

If planning policy is used to restrict and protect commercial interests, this then distorts the commercial profitability of the business and increases the price of goods to the consumer.
This is what we have now.

This argument is all about competition and the local retailers throwing money at lawyers – not about planning – which is should be.

7 years and 5 DA’s enough is enough!

sammo1 said :

The plans do not comply with the territory plan. What it boils down to is the developers are trying to build a Group center, in a space/area that was set aside for a local center.

That has never been established. It is a certainly a claim that is oft repeated by the opponents of the development.

The DA before this one was approved. It was appealed to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and then withdrawn.

The latest DA was slightly modified to make it even more acceptable (I don’t know the details). One can assume, therefore, that it would also have been approved. And also appealed.

Make of that what you will.

Yes this has taken too long, and yes the people of Giralang deserve a local shop…

BUT

The plans do not comply with the territory plan. What it boils down to is the developers are trying to build a Group center, in a space/area that was set aside for a local center.

I don’t live in either suburb, but I can see both sides of the argument, at the end of the day, if the plans don’t add up, how can the building go ahead?

If it does, it opens the door to any developer to whip up a massive coles/woolies/aldi at any local center.

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