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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 7 Hansard (30 June) . . Page.. 1910 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

That the motion be referred to the Standing Committee on Urban Services for inquiry and report in conjunction with its inquiry into implementation of Variation No. 64 to the Territory Plan.

MS TUCKER (11.01): I just want to clarify for members what is happening here. It is quite ironic, considering Mr Moore's interjections and outraged comments. We are setting up a process of consultation here which should, hopefully, assist the Government in setting up some way of getting local area planning and working with the community to see what they think should happen in a holistic way around a shopping centre. The reason I put the motion in the way I did with the words "before approval is given" is that we are getting very strong sentiments of concern from the community, who see the ad hoc process at the moment not taking this local area planning approach, or what we are calling the precinct master plans. People are concerned about that.

It is fine for the committee to look at this as a concept, and I am delighted that the committee is interested in looking at it, but meanwhile we are going to be getting developments occurring in a piecemeal way. In six months poor Latham is going to end up with a good statement coming out of the committee about a process to involve the community in local area planning or precinct section planning concepts for commercial areas. They have seen this sloppy ad hoc process occurring in their shopping centre. That is why I have set up a process for involving the community in local area planning, which is fundamental, good planning, before you have the ad hoc development occurring. It is a bit silly. Obviously, on the numbers, it will go to the committee, but it is not going to stop what is happening at Latham.

MR SMYTH (Minister for Urban Services) (11.02): Mr Speaker, the Government is pleased that Liberal and Labor can agree on something which is a commonsense move for small business. The Government is already preparing such master plans. To date PALM has prepared guidelines for both Aranda and Latham local shopping centres. These guidelines involved extensive consultation with LAPACs and residents, and in both cases there was significant input from both groups. The guidelines have addressed the changing retail pattern and the needs of the community and have proposed a significant restructuring of both centres. They have looked beyond the retail areas of the centres and addressed issues of access, parking, pedestrian connections and safety, and presentation and recognition of the centres. They have also considered the range of uses and forms of development in areas adjacent to the centres. It is already happening.

The peril with Ms Tucker's motion is that before any redevelopment can go ahead you have to do an area master plan or a section master plan on any relevant area of adjacent land. How big is that; how small is that; how wide is that? But even more disturbing - and I cannot imagine that any small business or trader has contacted Ms Tucker and said that they want this - is that the motion talks about the redevelopment of part or all of these shopping centres. That means that if you are changing from a shop that sells books to a restaurant, which is a redevelopment, you have to do a master plan for the whole area. All you are doing is changing the type of business.

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