Page 3937 - Week 10 - Thursday, 20 September 2018
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Business Impact Assessment of ACT Government-led construction activities in Gungahlin, dated September 2018, pursuant to the resolution of the Assembly of 6 June 2018 concerning the impact on local businesses of light rail construction.
I ask leave to make a statement in relation to the paper.
Leave granted.
MS FITZHARRIS: I am pleased today to table the response to the Assembly resolution of 6 June this year—impact of construction activities in Gungahlin. The government is progressing several important infrastructure projects in the Gungahlin town centre, with many nearing completion.
Gungahlin is a great example of light rail’s capacity to stimulate investment in urban renewal, residential and commercial development. In the Gungahlin town centre, for instance, there have been significant private sector investment and various mixed use developments. In neighbouring suburbs we have seen the private sector respond to our growing population with commercial precinct developments.
Major activities underway in Gungahlin town centre include Canberra’s light rail project on Flemington Road and Hibberson Street, the new Gungahlin bus station in Gungahlin Place, the Hibberson Street shared zone, The Valley Avenue extensions, road upgrades at Ernest Cavanagh Street and Manning Clark Crescent and the recently opened Camilleri Way.
The benefits of these improvements are wide ranging and include economic growth, improved amenity, employment generation and greater investment in the Gungahlin district. To optimise these benefits the government has pursued comprehensive land use, place making and integrated transport strategies to ensure that Gungahlin is a vibrant and connected town centre.
The construction of public works, however, often comes with a level of disruption and inconvenience for the local community. Although it is rarely possible to completely eliminate all construction-related impacts, the government has sought to minimise impacts by strategically staging works, traffic management, business support and consultation.
On 6 June the Assembly passed a resolution for the ACT government to undertake an assessment of the impact of all ACT government-led construction activities on local business in the Gungahlin town centre. The Canberra Business Chamber was commissioned to collate feedback from local businesses about their experiences. This includes 210 Gungahlin businesses, 100 one-on-one feedback sessions and 31 survey responses.
A mix of business feedback, ABS data and case study reviews has assessed the impacts on businesses over the recent construction period, as well as the opportunity to develop a picture of what the community and businesses can expect in the more immediate term as some major projects come to a close.
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