Page 5072 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 26 October 2011
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The ACT Greens have been concerned about the increasing dominance of the Canberra Centre and its influence on ACT planning decisions for many years now. I think that this remains a significant concern. ACTPLA’s requirement for active frontages in Civic is, however, having a bit of a positive effect through an increase in pavement activity. The new bits of the Canberra Centre on Bunda Street are prime examples, but the land bridges above them work in the opposite way. The centre’s design enables people to park and visit all the wings in the centre without once having to go outside the mall.
I need to raise here the anecdotal understanding by most business owners it seems in Civic that the Canberra Centre’s owner, QIC, has been purchasing further retail space in the block bounded by Garema Place, City Walk and Petrie Plaza. The existing Canberra Centre features a balcony that has no obvious purpose apart from planning for a future pedestrian overpass to an adjoining building right where the block in question currently stands.
I have noted in my motion public concern that an expanded Canberra Centre will take business away from shops outside the mall. Today’s Canberra Times online poll asked people whether they thought expanding the Canberra Centre would make or break the city. Fifty-three per cent of people said, “Break it—small business is already struggling, and this could be the final nail in the coffin,” 34 per cent said, “Make it—the expansion would attract more people and more business to Civic,” and 12 per cent were “not sure”.
The Greens want to see a Civic with a diversity of shops and services. I am sure this is what most people who come to our city centre would like to see too. I am concerned about the future of Civic as independent businesses leave shopfronts empty and their potential customers get lost in the homogenised experience of yet another shopping centre.
In terms of how to improve the look and feel of Civic and those sad empty shopfronts, I would like to mention the Renew Newcastle movement where some very community-minded people undertook the coordination of fledgling businesses and artists to use empty shop spaces on an ongoing but temporary basis. This resulted in the revival of an unused area of Newcastle and its becoming vibrant again. I would quickly like to flag that CBD Ltd are exploring the possibility of establishing a renew Canberra program and I look forward to their progress in this.
As for active frontages, one thing the government could do is encourage more outdoor cafe activity in Canberra, most easily by relaxing some of the regulations around outdoor cafes and reducing the complexity of the application process. For example, the government’s draft outdoor cafe policy last year suggested that only certain types of tables and chairs should be allowed. We opposed this over-regulation. We think that the relaxing of cafe furniture standards which are not health or safety related will allow a more diverse cafe scene to evolve in Canberra. Generally, we need regulations and infrastructure which support small businesses, entrepreneurs, creativity and retail diversity, rather than hinder them.
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