A quick update from the Belconnen Community Council on what has been happening in the Belconnen District this month:

Summary:

  • BCC Budget Submission.

    • The BCC is calling on the ACT Government to deliver on eight promises already made to Belconnen residents.

  • BCC Submission to Arscott House rezoning.

    • A proposed rezoning in the Belconnen Town Centre would cut community-zoned land by 7.7%.

    • The BCC has recommended that Draft Plan Amendment 11, rezoning the Arscott House site, not be approved.

  • Big Splash update.

    • Access Canberra, acting as the delegate of the Territory Planning Authority, has made the decision not to terminate the Crown Lease of Block 1, Section 53 Macquarie (known as the Big Splash Water Park).

  • Margaret Timpson Park and Umbagong District Park.

    • The ACT Government has released preliminary designs for new facilities in Margaret Timpson Park and Umbagong District Park.

  • Kaleen Indoors Sports Centre.

    • A new DA includes squash and pickleball courts as indoor recreation space instead of basement parking – DA submissions close 11 May.

  • REMINDER: Dunlop Shops

    • Woolworths closure at Dunlop Shops announced. Petition launched to show community support for local shops

BCC Budget Submission

The BCC is calling on the ACT Government to deliver on eight promises already made to Belconnen residents.

  • A Freedom of Information request has revealed that the draft feasibility study into the Belconnen to City Transitway, which every MLA voted in 2023 to deliver by 2028, recommends further study.

  • Twenty-seven months after that unanimous vote, the project has not progressed beyond the study phase.

  • That’s the starkest example. But it’s not the only one.

  • You can read the full submission here.

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BCC Submission to Arscott House rezoning.

The BCC has recommended that Draft Plan Amendment 11, rezoning the Arscott House site, not be approved. Why?

  • The numbers don’t stack up.

    • The proposal is being justified using figures that make it look like Belconnen has plenty of community land, but they include a nearby proposed 1,629-dwelling development as if it’s comparable community space.

  • The impact is real at the local level.

    • At the town centre scale, this would mean a 7.7% reduction in community-zoned land, space that could otherwise support community facilities, services, and places to gather.

  • The community has already been clear.

    • People want more community infrastructure, green space, and places to connect, not less. The University of Canberra’s own research found the Town Centre lacks social infrastructure and accessible gathering places.

  • We’re already seeing the pressure.

    • A long-standing local service (SDN Bluebell Centre) has been forced out of Belconnen due to a lack of suitable sites, and there’s ongoing concern about the long-term availability of recreational spaces like Big Splash and the Kaleen Indoor Sports Centre.

  • And Belconnen is growing fast

    • The town centre population has tripled since 2006 and is expected to keep growing. Thousands of apartments are already approved or under construction. That growth must be matched with the infrastructure that makes it liveable.

  • You can read the full submission here.

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Big Splash update.

  • Access Canberra, acting as the delegate of the Territory Planning Authority, has made the decision not to terminate the Crown Lease of Block 1, Section 53 Macquarie (known as the Big Splash Water Park).

  • Following engagement with the operators and multiple site inspections conducted in April, Access Canberra has considered the substantive actions taken by the owners, including site clean-up and repair of the pool infrastructure to re-open the site as an aquatic facility by 1 November 2026.

  • The operators have expressed their intention to continue operating the site as an aquatic facility, retaining the existing 50‑metre pool and associated food amenities.

  • Access Canberra understands the operators have indicated an intention to lodge a development application for the removal and demolition of the site’s waterslides and some damaged infrastructure including the former kiosk.

  • No development application has been received by the Territory Planning Authority, and any future proposal would be required to be formally lodged and assessed under the Territory Plan, including public notification processes.

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Margaret Timpson Park and Umbagong District Park.

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Kaleen Indoors Sports Centre.

  • Earlier this year, the BCC highlighted that the DA to redevelop the Kaleen Indoor Sports Centre tried to count basement parking as indoor recreation space.

  • An amended DA has been submitted that replaces the proposed 25m indoor pool and basement parking with squash and pickleball courts.

  • At first glance, it appears to just meet the minimum requirements for 1400m2 indoor recreation space, but is still a significant reduction from the 3,823m2 currently used as a club and an indoor recreation facility.

  • DA submissions close 11 May.

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REMINDER: Dunlop Shops

Published by chair