North Canberra Community Council

15/11/2022

A reminder to NCCC members that the 2022 AGM is on tomorrow night (from 7pm).

Members should have already received the meeting invite and login details via email, but please reach out to the NCCC Secretary if you require assistance.

31/10/2022

The ACT Government has commenced consultation on the early planning phase for a new Northside hospital.

While a specific location for the hospital is yet to be announced and detailed design and construction approval still years away, a YourSay page has been set up to gauge early views.

ACT Health is also hosting a number of in-person ‘drop in’ sessions around town over the coming weeks.

Help us shape the early planning and design of a new Northside Hospital by giving your feedback about what you need from a new Northside Hospital.

25/10/2022

The October edition of the NCCC newsletter is now available on our website - https://www.northcanberra.org.au/october-2022-newsletter/

This month's topics include:

- looking at some recent examples of poor behaviour by property developers and highlighting the need for a property developer licensing scheme in the ACT (on that note, we fully support CFMEU ACT's recent campaign on this issue and recommend signing their petition - https://epetitions.parliament.act.gov.au/details/epet-22-029)

- passing on the great news that the Dickson Health Walk-In Centre will be re-opened from late November, and thanking all those involved

- noting some of the key details and stakeholder feedback around the Garden City Cycle Route project (the feasibility study stage is near completion and we look forward to construction commencing ASAP)

- and listing some of the latest development announcements in the inner north

If you're an inner north resident, you can sign up to the NCCC to get the newsletter delivered straight to your inbox.

In past couple of weeks, there has several stories that have highlighted the significant power that property developers have over people’s lives and the need for their practises to be properly regulated. One major example relates to the partial collapse of the excavation site at Art Group’s Caly...

19/10/2022

There's a couple of new development announcements in the Watson area in the last week:
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The draft variation for Kamberra (on the corner of Federal Highway near EPIC) has commenced public notification with a closing date of 18th November. https://www.planning.act.gov.au/planning-our-city/territory-plan/draft_variations_to_the_territory_plan
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Community consultation on Block 3 Section 95 in North Watson is also now underway (this block is on the corner of Antill Street and Aspinall street) which would allow the site to be developed for residential purposes.

Purdon Planning are holding an online information session on Wednesday 26th October. Details on the project, and how to register for the information session, are available at https://www.purdon.com.au/2022/10/17/block-3-section-95-watson-territory-plan-variation/

Introduction Maryalicec Pty Limited has engaged Purdon to prepare a planning study in support of an application to vary the Territory Plan for Block 3 Section 95 Watson located on the corner of Aspinall Street and Antill Street. The variation will allow the site to be developed for residential purpo...

14/10/2022

Happy Friday to all fellow North Canberrans

For something a bit lighter and different, I thought i'd share a picture from my favourite local photographer (whose identity remains mysterious, but their amazing work can be found at https://twitter.com/ThingsCanberra )

See if you can guess which suburb this bus stop is from (without looking at the twitter caption)

13/10/2022

You may recall that the Dickson Walk-in Health Centre was closed last year to relocate staff to work at the COVID walk-in centre in Garran, at a time where there was a high demand across facilities.

While we understand the rationale for the decision at that time, it is clear that the workload for the COVID centre has since decreased and it is time for the Dickson Walk-in Centre to be reopened.

Its continued closure disproportionately impacts the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of the Inner North community, who lack the means to easily travel to other walk-in centres around Canberra (it’s not reasonable to expect people to sit on a bus for an hour when sick).

We would like to thank the Braddon Collective and the Dickson Residents Group for recently writing to our local representatives to request this be addressed as a priority.

And also acknowledging the response from Ministers Rattenbury and Vassarotti, who advised that they will bring this request to the attention of Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith.

We look forward to seeing the Dickson walk-in health centre opened as soon as possible.

07/10/2022

The NCCC couldn't agree more with Minister Berry that we need to build more public housing, but we can't help but notice the Govt has presided over the demolishing of a large number of public housing blocks along the Northbourne corridor and in Civic, to be replaced with entirely with apartments.

The NCCC is also aware that ACT Housing is having to use sales of properties to assist with funds for new social housing programs because of budget restrictions placed upon it (including forced relocations, which ACTCOSS has admirably been fighting against this year - https://the-riotact.com/berry-hits-out-at-actcoss-as-public-housing-relocation-hearings-get-under-way/567063). This is ultimately driving public housing tenants out of North Canberra to areas where land is cheaper.

The ACT Govt needs to allocate more funding (rather than rely so much on 'asset recycling' financing models), and demonstrate a larger commitment to achieving a higher level of social housing than is possible under the present budgetary allocations.

We wrote to Ministers Berry and Vassarotti on this issue earlier this year - you can read the letter (and their reply) on our website - https://www.northcanberra.org.au/act-housing-evictions-2/

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7933953/canberrans-should-welcome-public-housing-in-their-suburbs-minister/

Delays to building new properties hurt people in need, Housing Minister says

29/09/2022

Last night, a few of us attended a stakeholder session on the Garden City Cycle Route

Some key takeaways:

- Formal community consultation to take place next year (we'll also invite the Garden City Cycle Route project team to present at a future NCCC meeting);

- No construction date set at this stage, noting the feasibility study work underway;

- A lot of the feedback was about safety (essentially, the route should be safe enough that you’d be happy for your kids to use it);

- We also highlighted the need to make sure the cycle route provides a clear cycle 'park and ride' option for people to effectively utilise the Light Rail and buses (including more bike racks at Light Rail stops);

- The route needs to proactively incorporate areas of high population growth (particularly for new developments along the Northbourne corridor and the rapidly growing North Watson area); and

- With the feasibility study stage near conclusion, we're looking forward to seeing the full $10 million in project funding ($5m election commitment from ACT Labor and $5m election commitment from Federal Labor) provisioned in the next ACT and Commonwealth Budgets.

Thanks to the Garden City Route Project Team for the presentation (and to Enerstine Kirsch from Braddon Collective for helping to organise the session).

A federal Labor government would spend $5 million on improved cycle paths in Canberra's inner north.

28/09/2022

Apologies for the radio silence over the past few weeks while I've been out of town, but glad to be back in our (unusually) cold and wet city!

The latest NCCC newsletter has just come out on our website.

This month, we look at whether our urban planning approach is properly considering the roads, cycle lanes, schools and shops needed to cater for our growing population, we highlight some of the latest development announcements for the Inner North and discuss our renewed push to have the terrible Monash Drive proposal removed from the National Capital Plan for good.

At last week’s NCCC General Meeting, the issue of integrated planning came to the fore during the Suburban Land Agency’s (SLA) presentation on the indicative land release program in North Canberra over the coming years. One of the areas of focus was Watson Section 76 (a greenfield site between A...

07/09/2022

The Estate Development Plan for the proposed redevelopment of the Yowani Golf Course has been put out for consultation.

Purdon Planning will be undertaking community consultation, holding a single consultation session on Wednesday 14 September from 5.30pm, with consultation closing Friday 23 September 2022 (more details at https://www.purdon.com.au/2022/08/31/block-7-section-67-lyneham-yowani-country-club).

The site is obviously well suited for development, but there's a lot of detail to work through, including the Swinden Street Extension, with a seperate DA for the clubhouse and buildings expected to be lodged before the end of the year.

We'll certainly be looking to have Yowani and Purdon Planning deliver a presentation on the development at a future NCCC meeting.

https://the-riotact.com/whats-on-offer-in-yowani-country-clubs-proposed-residential-precinct/591265

The long-awaited Yowani Country Club redevelopment in Lyneham is a step closer with the release of an Estate Development Plan…

22/08/2022

The consultation period for the ACT Government’s Active Travel Plan closes this Wednesday.

The Plan sets the overarching principles that inform the development of cycle lanes and public transport infrastructure in the ACT over the next several years.

Any North Canberra resident who cycles or commutes via public transport will have a stake in the outcome of this Plan.

The NCCC has lodged a submission which supports the vision, the five key priorities and all 12 key actions in the Plan. However, our submission also expresses concern that many of the actions announced in the Plan have been announced by government at various times will little change on the ground.

It is critical that the ACT Government release implementation plans, timelines and targets, and matching budget funding, to ensure the key actions in the Plan are implemented.

You can lodge a submission here -

Have your say on the draft ACT Active Travel Plan to enable more people to walk and ride to commute, exercise or socialise.

16/08/2022

In case you missed it, this excellent ABC article from last week crunched the latest census data for Canberra to draw out some of the distinctions between north and southsiders.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-11/census-data-proves-canberras-north-south-divide/101267070

The article also features an interactive population density map which shows how Canberra has changed over the past 10 years (the charts are available at https://markusmannheim.github.io/maps/population.html).

The map shows the growing density in North Canberra over the last 10 years, particularly in Campbell and along Northbourne Avenue. With many new developments in the pipeline, the map will look markedly 'spikier' in 5 years time.

It is important that the growing population in these areas of North Canberra also receive a commensurate increase in amenities and services.

It will also be important to ensure there are sufficient open green spaces retained, not only for recreation but also to provide a respite on hot days for nearby residents from the urban heat island effect.

A visualisation of population distribution changing over time.