Page 1030 - Week 03 - Thursday, 22 March 2018
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(3) What community consultation and involvement was, and will be, involved in the approval and construction of the Manuka Oval Media Centre moving forward.
Mr Gentleman: The answer to the member’s question is as follows:
1. I have used my call-in powers in this instance because I considered the proposal will provide a substantial public benefit, particularly to enhance the facilities at Manuka Oval, but also to benefit the wider Canberra community. The provision of a much needed modern broadcast and media facility will serve our economic sustainability goals by capitalising on economic opportunities that are associated with modern sporting venues that will attract national and international events. The provision of this facility will also serve our social sustainability goals by further enhancing the great place that Manuka Oval already is. The newly enhanced Manuka Oval will continue to meet the diverse recreational needs of our residents, the needs of visitors to our city, but will further connect our city and community to a much wider audience nationally and internationally. The proposed development will promote high quality, creative design, and innovation in an existing urban and landscape setting, while safeguarding the heritage and iconic values it holds for the Territory. The use of my ability to ‘call-in’ this development application will contribute to the timely and considered construction of the facility, whilst preserving the important heritage and environmental values present at the locality.
2. The urgency to proceed with the project revolved around timely construction of the facility, the need to secure, and the ability to deliver a sports broadcasting facility for Canberra to host international events – particularly international cricket test matches, but also major AFL events. Hosting such events require significant advance planning, commitment and certainty that the venue will be at the required standard during the relevant sporting season. The media and broadcast centre will be an integrated component of the Manuka Oval sport facilities. Representations and objections received from the local community during public notification of the development application were thoroughly considered in the assessment process, and my decision provided a response to key issues.
3. A three-staged community engagement process was undertaken by the applicant prior to lodgement of the development application at the beginning of 2017. Stage 1 involved drafting guiding principles for design of the media centre, and Stage 2 sought feedback on draft designs. These stages included letterbox drops, two community workshops, two drop-in sessions, online feedback, and an opportunity for email and written submissions. Stage 3 involved engaging with the community about final designs and changes made to the design following Stage 2 engagement.
The proposal was then lodged as a development application and publicly notified for three weeks as required under the Planning and Development Act 2007. The public notification period was extended for an additional week to provide the community with the best possible opportunity to comment without impacting the statutory timeframes. The proposed design was also presented to the newly formed interim Design Review Panel (DRP) which was co-chaired by the ACT Government Architect and the acting Chief Executive of the National Capital Authority during the course of the development application, and prior to final endorsement.
The development application has now been approved and no further community consultation is envisaged or required. However, targeted notification and consultation
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