Page 1508 - Week 06 - Thursday, 2 July 2020
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However, Kippax Fair suggested a second option for the expansion of the shopping centre to the eastern side of the centre.
Kippax Fair undertook several separate community engagements on this option, and reported considerable community support for the option. To test the Kippax Fair option, additional community engagement was undertaken by the ACT government. This involved the formation of a community panel, which met three times in 2017. The panel supported the commercial expansion of the centre to the east of the adjoining urban open space.
A key consideration was the desire to retain the existing surface car parks on the western side of the centre. Changes were made to the draft master plan, consistent with the panel recommendations. A fourth and fifth final stage of the community engagement were undertaken on the revised draft master plan, and there was majority community support for the changes, including for the commercial expansion to the east of the centre. The final master plan was released in March 2019.
Further to the community consultation of the master plan, the Planning and Development Act 2007 requires that public consultation is undertaken for any draft variation. Some 56 submissions were received as a result of this consultation. A report of the consultation considered these submissions, and amendments were made to the draft variation in response to the matters raised.
The report on consultation and the draft variation were referred, along with the draft variation, to the Standing Committee on Planning and Urban Renewal. On 27 May 2020, the committee advised that it would not hold an inquiry into the draft variation, and I subsequently approved the variation.
I am satisfied that the extensive consultation processes undertaken for both the master plan and the Territory Plan variation have resulted in majority community support for the expansion of the Kippax group centre, as proposed.
MS LE COUTEUR (Murrumbidgee) (2.41): The Territory Plan variation 361 will rezone a large part of an oval and green space for expansion of Kippax shopping centre. Rezoning such a large piece of open space is a very significant decision because, basically, there is no way back—once it is no longer green space it will not go back to green space. This decision needs to be made very carefully and it can be justified only if there is clear community support because, as I said, it is a decision that will go only in one direction.
Unfortunately, it is not clear whether there is clear community support. Very large sections of the Belconnen community are still unhappy. Some of them have been emailing me and some of them have been emailing the planning committee office. I do not know whether they have been emailing other members, but I assume they have been emailing and making representations to their local members. They certainly suggested that.
Minister Gentleman talked about the extensive consultation process, but I know, particularly from having attended a number of Belconnen Community Council
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