BCC MEDIA STATEMENT – KIPPAX GROUP CENTRE MASTERPLAN – 25 March 2019
Today the ACT Government
has released the long awaited Kippax Group Centre Master Plan Engagement
report. We wrote to ACT Planning Minister Mick Gentleman on 12 March seeking
access to the outcomes of this lengthy consultation process and its impact on
the final Master Plan; the result has been somewhat of a mixed bag for the West
Belconnen community.
The Belconnen Community
Council held a number of meetings throughout the consultation process to garner
feedback and identify concerns our residents, workers, business owners and
students had about the draft Master Plan. When consultation concluded in early
2017 we were satisfied that all the feedback was satisfactorily captured for
every stakeholder and reflected their concerns while respecting the principle that expansion
was absolutely necessary for the continued growth of the area. With 30,000
residents flowing into West Macgregor and Ginninderry over the next few decades
it is vital we have infrastructure and services to meet the demand this growth
will bring.
What was particularly
disappointing was the re-opening of that process months after consultation had
officially closed to facilitate the Kippax Fair owners’ new plans for
redevelopment of the centre; this appeared to be counter to the long-standing
principles of consultation and process integrity the ACT Government have been
renowned for. When a Community Reference Group was formed to deal with the
challenges this new proposal posed, the Belconnen Community Council
participated in good faith with a view that the significant concerns around
loss of green space, reductions in available sporting and recreational facility
and the creation of heat island effects, would be heard and ameliorations put
in place to deal with those significant matters.
A full year after the
final consultation period closed, we now have a report that has not
sufficiently addressed those concerns.
We acknowledge the many
great results that are reflected in the report:
- Upgrading parking facilities in and around the
centre
- Upgrading of local ovals to account for
the loss of facility at Kippax
- New access arrangements for public/private road transport
- Better shopping facilities and greater choice for the community
However, relying on a
single online poll and the use of a minority of suggestions relating to these
concerns does little to negate the significant feedback collected by the
Council over the last four years. The simple principle of losing 30% of your
nett green space then upgrading 30 percent of what is left does not return your
overall state back to 100%; this is a pure false economy and one which our
community has been urging the ACT Government to recognize.
We call on the ACT
Government to identify new green space in the West Belconnen and Ginninderry
developments to rebalance the 16000 square metres lost at Kippax. This process
should operate in tandem with any redevelopment activity to ensure that as
people come into our district and the West Belconnen area, we have capacity and
facility to accommodate their needs.
The Belconnen Community
Council acknowledges the hard work of the ACT Government public servants who
have participated in this process and provided great support to our community
over the last four years. We will continue to work with them in a respectful
and courteous environment to get the best possible result on this and the many
other challenges facing the Belconnen District and our community.
Glen Hyde
Chair, Belconnen
Community Council
