The ACT Government is planning to re-develop Stuart Flats and Gowrie Court as part of a program to generate sufficient income to revitalise the ACT’s public housing portfolio.
Extensive public consultation was organised by the government. This included a drop-in session in July 2014 to look at some options for each site, a public briefing in August, opportunities to provide comments on the Time-to-Talk web site and a Design Workshop in October, where there was an opportunity to generate models of possible scenarios at each site. In addition the GNCA and the ISCCC held meetings with government officials responsible for the re-developments.
We commend the government for embarking on this extensive consultation process. It was very valuable for the community to hear what was being proposed. Furthermore, the government planners acted positively to comments by the local residents and a new set of plans has now unveiled. The figures below indicate what is currently planned.
We were pleased to see that most of the public open space between Light Street and Evans Crescent is being preserved and incorporated into the Stuart Flats plan and that most of the Gowrie Court site will now be developed as town houses. We had argued for both these outcomes.
The next stage of the process will be for the government to draft Variations to the Territory Plan to change the zoning of the areas and develop Precinct Codes to detail what planning constraints will be applied to each of the sites, following their sale to private developers.
At that stage there will be an opportunity to comment on issues such as the height of the buildings, parking facilities and solar access. It is a long process, but hopefully it will be worth the effort and we will finish up with good quality developments.
Indicative concept plan for Stuart Flats. Heights of buildings range from two to six stories. See our website for details.
Indicative Concept Plan for Gowrie Court; two story townhouses and two 6 story towers.
