Page 1815 - Week 05 - Thursday, 2 April 2009
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There is little else in the plan about our rural settlements yet there is reference on page 34 of the report that the spatial plan of necessity cannot treat Canberra as an island but must also consider the surrounding New South Wales region. It is also acknowledged in the report that cross-border issues relating to opportunities for improved economic development that the synergistic growth of Canberra and its region offers make it imperative that a regional approach to managing growth and change is attained.
However, ACT rural villages in the region continue to struggle to survive. In Tharwa, for example, the village is still feeling the impact of the bridge and school closure. In addition, the famous Cuppacumbalong craft centre and adjacent craft shops are closed, and what was a scenic tourist drive incorporating a number of the area’s attractions is no longer popular. Now that the bridge is open again, the community may be able to attract more visitors down to Tharwa and catch people on their way to Namadgi national park.
Across the border, some rural villages are thriving; for example, Bungendore, Braidwood, Murrumbateman, Goulburn and Yass. These villages have a distinct advantage in attracting a substantial amount of regional revenue. In addition, they have very active residents and business owners working with local and state government to ensure their towns or villages have the features and facilities that attract interstate and regional visitors. For example, the Yass Valley Development Corporation was formed with the vision of creating “a diverse rural region that provides lifestyle, business and recreation choices, while sustaining our environment, history and community”. The corporation promotes tourism, economic development, business development and expanding the membership of the corporation. Without this sort of structure and approach, it is easy to see where our villages are being left behind.
In the ACT we need a range of initiatives to assist local residents and community groups to lure the city dwellers and tourists to our villages. However, the residents of these villages cannot be expected to do this alone. The Greens believe the government should enact its commitment in the Labor-Greens parliamentary agreement by undertaking a consultative master planning process with villages, and implement the agreed outcomes. At a minimum the villages of Tharwa, Hall and Pialligo should be part of the government’s tourism strategy.
The villages of the ACT have been under enormous pressure in recent times with the bushfires of 2003, the drought, school closures, roadworks near Pialligo and now the downturn in the economy. In the ACT Planning and Land Authority rural villages precinct code, released in March 2008, Pialligo is not even mentioned. The plan covers Hall, Stromlo, Tharwa and Uriarra only. The overall view of the government on Pialligo has been to support the airport expansion, solve road issues, chop down any tree in the way and not worry about what happens to historic Pialligo along the way.
The additional concern in relation to Pialligo is that the ACTPLA eastern broadacre study, which is being considered by the government, has nominated Pialligo as an area of interest for light industry development. This proposal alarmed the local community so much that they have drafted their own master plan to propose to
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