Page 3584 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 22 November 2022
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in ongoing strategic planning work across the territory, including the investigations undertaken in West Murrumbidgee, West Greenway and the Western Edge.
Significant time and resources are invested in planning for the future of Canberra and identifying where and how the most suitable growth can occur, while considering a range of important factors such as climate change, accessibility, sustainability, the environment and the people of the ACT. Whether greenfield or urban infill development, considerable planning and site investigations are needed to identify where it might be appropriate to have development and redevelopment. Undertaking the relevant suite of studies and due diligence is fundamental to the underlying identifying opportunities for growth and what might be required to deliver that and manage risks.
The ACT government is committed to a policy of delivering up to 70 per cent of new housing within our existing urban footprint. The ACT Planning Strategy 2018 recognises that, to reduce the extent of urban expansion and to support sustainable urban growth, the position is to work towards delivering up to 70 per cent of new housing within our existing urban footprint and by concentrating development in areas located close to the city centre, town and group centres and along key transit corridors. This is government policy and continues to be.
The government is continuing to deliver new housing under the direction of the ACT Planning Strategy 2018 and related strategies for transport, infrastructure, climate change and housing. The intention continues to focus on urban development in areas that are close to the city centre, town and group centres and transit corridors which are areas of high accessibility; within existing residential zones on blocks or sites that are appropriate locations with the capacity to accommodate increasing housing supply, density and choice—for example, large blocks in accessible locations with the potential for dual occupancy; and close to local centres that could be suited to medium density housing typologies.
The above approach has been endorsed in a recent Productivity Commission report into housing affordability in Australia. Future greenfield development will be balanced against the need to protect key environmental values, reduce the risk from natural hazards and be in locations that facilitate access to employment, services
and infrastructure.
The government is continuing to work on improvements to planning for the future in the ACT through the Planning System Review and Reform project. This year the government has released a new planning bill, a new draft Territory Plan and draft district strategies. The draft district strategies provide more detail on the implementation of the government policies related to 70 per cent of development within the urban footprint and approximately 30 per cent greenfield development. The draft district strategies indicate where development might be possible and opportunities where medium density development could occur.
The draft district strategies reflect government policy and identify how, where and what growth might occur across the territory and what is required to support this change. The draft district strategies are based on many years of conversation with community and further ask Canberrans what they wish to see within their individual district strategies. For housing, the draft strategies and draft new Territory Plan also
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