Page 1256 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 29 March 2017
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want to be clear on a decision I made some weeks ago to extend the DA consultation period. In relation to these new proposals, the DA consultation period has not yet commenced. We are talking with communities before we have lodged a DA, listening to and considering their views. The proposals which have recently been announced for sites in Wright, Holder, Chapman, Mawson and Monash are in line with the government’s aims and this process.
The land that has been identified is zoned as “community facility”. Under the ACT’s planning arrangements, this land can be used for a range of facilities, including health care, child care and cultural facilities. In particular, this land use zone permits supportive housing, which is housing for those in need of support. Supportive housing means using the land for residential accommodation, including self-contained dwellings, which is managed by a territory-approved organisation.
While not all of the public housing renewal program is using community facilities land, we do have some great examples where local communities and community councils have worked with the government on shaping a good development and embracing new families in their local area.
I was chatting with a number of public housing tenants last week, both in the tenants consultative group, the joint champions, and neighbours in my own suburb. These people are diverse in the views, goals and aspirations that they have for themselves and their families, just like the rest of us, and just like residents in the suburbs in which we are attempting to build public housing.
That is why public housing residents get to have a say in where they move, as part of the renewal program. Each resident is asked about what their needs are and is provided with support to relocate. This government works closely with all tenants to find the most appropriate housing for each of them. Some tenants have chosen to stay in their current community; in fact, we have more than 170 replacement dwellings located in the inner north to support this choice. Other tenants have chosen to move to an area which better meets their needs and preferences. They may have family or friends living in another part of the city, or they may want to be closer to their work or their child’s school.
I am aware that some concerns have been raised about the Chapman site, as it is located in a bushfire-prone area. Fifty per cent of Canberra is a bushfire-prone area, and the environment in Chapman has changed significantly since the fires in 2003. The government is considering any and all risks associated with this site, as part of the design process. The public housing renewal task force undertook due diligence to make sure it was suitable for public housing, and this included a bushfire risk assessment. The proposed development will be required to use appropriate materials and landscaping, have suitable access points and locate servicing underground, with extra hydrant connections. This is not unusual for buildings on the urban edge of our city, and the design and construction requirements will be addressed as part of the development application and building approval stages. As with each renewal development, tenants for this location will be carefully selected by Housing ACT, with assistance from community service organisations, on the basis of their suitability for the particular type of development in this area.
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