Page 3890 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 25 August 2010

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video


condition. The Carleton Street shops have been refurbished and this precinct looks quite vibrant. And the site in Mannheim Street has been upgraded somewhat after looking extremely run down some years ago, although, unfortunately, the surgery is long closed and neglected.

The major retail and business centre for the suburb of Kambah is, of course, the Kambah Village, where there is a combination of retail premises, professional offices, a tavern and nearby a major club, a business centre, an Anglican church, restaurants, a childcare centre, as well as a service station and some attached businesses.

A key issue that I want to focus on today is the Kambah Village precinct and what the future holds for this relatively small but significant commercial centre. What I propose is that a proper master planning project be undertaken for the Kambah Village commercial precinct, a master planning project that recognises the location of this precinct at the gateway to Tuggeranong and the potential for this precinct to become a vibrant area for commercial, community and other activities.

A master plan prepared after appropriate consultation with all interested parties and individuals will enable proper consideration to be given to such matters as whether any changes are required to the existing buildings; the potential for new commercial developments to be undertaken; whether any changes are required to parking arrangements, including the possibility of a park and ride capacity; whether any changes are required to roads serving the precinct; particularly of interest to the older patrons of the Kambah Village, the footpath and pedestrian access; the issue of security should be addressed; links to Kett Street; as well as the service station complex and its effect upon the Kambah Village.

I note that under the former Liberal government some refurbishment was undertaken of Kambah Village and the somewhat quirky sheep, that I think we all associate with Kambah, were one of the outcomes of that project. But 10 years ago, it did upgrade the facilities in a very meaningful way, and more recently there has been, under the current government, some relatively minor refurbishment of the playground and the surrounds.

As the Tuggeranong Valley has matured, however, the time has come for a complete review of the way in which Kambah Village, as a substantial suburban retail centre, provides various services to the community. The first homes were occupied in Kambah in the early 1970s. Over the following nearly 40 years, Tuggeranong has evolved as a major urban, commercial and residential area which houses some 90,000 people, who have of course the superb views over the Brindabella Range, who call it home.

It is now possible to stand back and see how Kambah Village fits into this emerging and maturing community and use this contemporary perspective to consider the possibilities for this valuable, but smaller in comparison to centres like Tuggeranong and Erindale, commercial and community precinct. We also need to be able to take into account the new retail policy that has been promulgated by the Labor government.

Members will recall that we debated late last year the future of the Erindale centre. And we concluded that it would be appropriate to develop a master plan for that larger


Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video