Ginninderra Project: 2016 Year in review
2016 has been a milestone year for the Ginninderra venture.
In a year that marked CSIRO’s 100th birthday, momentum increased on a project that we believe will leave a legacy for the next 100 years and beyond.
Some of the highlights and milestones across the calendar year are included below.
Amendment 86
Our land was reclassified to ‘Urban’ under the National Capital Plan Amendment 86, giving us the opportunity to move forward with planning.
With the re-reclassification, further significant work was undertaken on areas that could be developed on the site and those that would need to be conserved as part of our commitment to conservation.
The decision to reclassify the land also allowed us to approach the market for Expressions of Interest from suitably qualified development partners.
In 2017, we expect to shortlist applicants and ask them to respond with a Request for Proposal, which will include a draft development control plan. Our joint-development partner will also assist us in ongoing discussions with the community and government (both at a territory and federal level).
Affordable Housing Think Tank
Ideas generated at our Affordable Housing Think Tank in April have provided a springboard for further developing our approach to tackling an entrenched national issue. Thirty experts from the housing sector, ACT and federal government agencies, community organisations and CSIRO research teams took part and focused on identifying solutions to make housing affordable for people receiving the lowest 40% of incomes.
The opportunity for different financing and governance models along with design factors and provision of a diversity of housing stock, were among the many potential solutions covered. Participants also put forward a raft of ideas including measures to reduce household living costs in order to achieve life cycle affordability.
Community engagement
We continued our commitment to ongoing community engagement in 2016 and met with many groups and individuals during the year.
In June, we invited experts from several ACT environmental groups for an on-site visit to discuss the heritage and environmental protection issues and opportunities at Ginninderra. We then held a follow-up workshop to seek their initial ideas and advice on managing key ecological values.
We held neighbourhood drop-in sessions at Evatt and at Gold Creek in August, where approximately 200 members of the community attended and provided ideas and feedback.
We also attended community council meetings in Belconnen and Gungahlin, and have met with the Village of Hall & District Progress Association.
Our conversations with the community around our aspirations for the site and the ongoing comments and feedback throughout the year have been invaluable in generating ideas, challenges and potential solutions.
Our team has been working hard to bring all the ideas together and to work on the objectives, benchmarks and measures that will underpin a unique and successful sustainable urban development at Ginninderra.
Project reports
We are committed to carrying out all of necessary due-diligence reports and releasing them publicly when finalised. One of the major ones released in November 2016 was the Ecological Values Report.
The report featured research that has been undertaken over a series of years on our site.
We also released reports that summarised the neighbourhood drop-in sessions held in 2015 and 2016.
We’d like to thank everybody who has taken the opportunity to give us feedback, to engage, and to input to the vision at CSIRO Ginninderra.
The involvement from the community has been fantastic and we look forward to continue working together in 2017.
Project update – October
Off the back of the community drop-in-sessions we held at the end of August, we are pleased to be able to release the report that documents the feedback we received from the community.
The sessions were designed to build on the previous neighbourhood drop-in sessions held in September 2015.
174 people attended the two sessions at Evatt and Gold Creek with a variety of comments and questions raised by attendees.
In response to our four themed stations at the drop-in sessions, comments and questions provided on feedback forms included:
- Housing – 24 comments/questions.
- Community Facilities – 21 comments/ questions.
- Conservation – 19 comments/ questions.
- Roads and Transport – 8 comments/ questions
Further topics commented on through the feedback forms were:
- CSIRO’s consultation with the community – 5 comments/ questions
- Impact of urban development on residents of neighbouring suburbs – 4 comments/ questions
- CSIRO’s role in development at the Ginninderra Field Station site – 3 comments/ questions
- Other: International design competition (1 comment); Impact of development at Ginninderra on ACT electoral boundaries (1 question)
CSIRO is committed to taking on board the comments received in future planning and design processes.
We have updated the FAQ’s section of our website to answer all the questions that were asked by the community at both the drop-in-sessions, along with the continued questions we are receiving through the website and on Facebook.
We are continuing to meet with interested groups and organisations to discuss the project, and have been invited to present at the Belconnen Community Council meeting on Tuesday 18 October.
If you would like to discuss the community engagement report or any other aspect of the project with us, we invite you to contact us by either completing a feedback form, emailing the project team or engaging with us through our Facebook page.
Share your comments, ideas and questions
We provided community feedback forms to those who attended our community drop-in sessions in late August 2016.
We invite you to use this form to provide your ideas, comments and questions on topics related to the CSIRO Ginninderra Project.
Thank you for taking time to provide feedback.
Privacy statement: Your personal information is being collected for the purpose of keeping you informed about progress at the Ginninderra Field Station site, and will not be used for any other purpose.
Help shape our vision for Ginninderra
We are excited to be working with the community to create something unique at Ginninderra. With this in mind, we invite you to attend one of our upcoming drop-in sessions in August.
Our engagement with community groups, nearby residents and industry associations began in September 2015.
Our first round of engagement included three drop-in sessions at Gold Creek, Evatt and Charnwood and involved more than 220 people. The aim of this consultation was to ensure in particular that residents in suburbs adjacent to the site had an early opportunity to be aware of, and comment on, the proposal to change the use of the site.
Community engagement was strong and constructive, and covered a wide range of areas including housing, environment, traffic and community facilities, as documented in the Phase 1 Consultation Report.
This was only the beginning. Now we aim to involve more people and groups in the discussion about how we can design and work together for a liveable, sustainable and resilient urban area.
To continue our conversation, we will be holding further neighbourhood drop-in sessions in Evatt and Gold Creek later this month to provide community members with an opportunity to receive an update on the project and to ask any questions about plans for the site.
Session 1 – Evatt
Date: Thursday 25 August 2016
Time: 3:00pm to 6:30pm
Venue: Evatt Scout Hall
Address: Heydon Crescent, Evatt
Session 2 – Gold Creek (Nicholls)
Date: Saturday 27 August 2016
Time: 12:00pm to 4:00pm
Venue: The Abbey
Address: Gold Creek Village, Nicholls
There will also be the chance to provide general feedback about the project or particular issues identified.
If you can’t attend either session, but still want to provide feedback, please complete the online feedback form.
Many people have already taken the time to speak to us and provide their comments on the future of Ginninderra. Thank you for your valuable contribution.
Project update – July
Over the past month the project team has been continuing to engage with a range of conservation groups regarding the ecological and heritage values of the site. This included a half-day workshop on 27 June with several member groups of the Conservation Council, including representatives from Friends of Grasslands, Ginninderra Catchment Group, Mt Rogers Landcare Group, the Canberra Ornithological Group, as well as the Biodiversity Working Group within the Conservation Council.
The workshop was a follow-up to a site visit of the Ginninderra property that was conducted in early June, and provided an opportunity for the Ginninderra Project Team to discuss and seek feedback on the principles for conservation and development that will inform subsequent stages of the project.
This month, we have also made plans to continue our conversation with the broader community about the Ginninderra Project. As part of our ongoing engagement activities we will be holding neighbourhood drop-in sessions in Evatt and Gold Creek to provide community members with an opportunity to receive an update on the project and to ask any questions about plans for the site.
Session 1 – Evatt
Date: Thursday 25 August 2016
Time: 3:00pm to 6:30pm
Venue: Evatt Scout Hall
Address: Heydon Crescent, Evatt
Session 2 – Gold Creek (Nicholls)
Date: Saturday 27 August 2016
Time: 12:00pm to 4:00pm
Venue: The Abbey
Address: Gold Creek Village, Nicholls
At these events, you will be able to talk with our project team and contribute your ideas, helping to shape our vision for the property and the principles that will guide sustainable urban development.
There will also be the chance to provide general feedback about the project. If you can’t attend either session, but still want to provide feedback, please complete the online enquiry contact form.
In preparation for these upcoming drop-in sessions in August 2016, we are pleased to share a report on the initial community consultation that CSIRO undertook last year. The report outlines CSIRO’s approach to community consultation and the main issues and questions that the community raised.
The drop-in sessions scheduled for August 2016, are the next key opportunity for community input.
Community feedback and September drop-in sessions
CSIRO scientist Guy Barnett speaking at the Charnwood drop-in session.
During September we held three drop-in and information sessions in Evatt, Gold Creek and Charnwood to listen to your comments and answer your questions about the future of the Ginninderra Field Station.
The focus was discussing the CSIRO proposal with residents living in the suburbs surrounding the Ginninderra Field Station: Fraser, Evatt, Spence, McKellar, Giralang, Crace, Nicholls and Hall.
It was fantastic to see so many people who wanted to find out more about the Ginninderra site and speak to the project team. A total of 224 people came along, which shows the high level of interest from the community.
In addition to attendance at events, we have also received over 60 written comments and questions via comment forms and email.
It’s important for us to understand community views in order to make the right decisions for the site in the future.
Thank you for coming along, asking questions, and for your understanding in relation to questions we don’t have the answers to yet.
From the feedback we’ve received so far, a number of clear themes have emerged. These themes include:
- Interest in maintaining the environmental value of the site, including retaining green spaces and corridors and continued protection of protected or endangered species
- The inclusion of community facilities and open spaces in any future development
- That any future development should be sustainable and well-planned, and consider large block sizes
- The need for additional services, for example schools, shops, sports facilities and medical services
- Consideration of traffic and road infrastructure, noting current safety and congestion issues on the roads bordering the Ginninderra Field Station
- CSIRO’s ongoing involvement in the future development of the site
In addition to the drop-in sessions held in September, we’ve also spoken to local groups such as community councils, environmental associations, industry bodies, welfare and social service organisations, and businesses. These discussions will be ongoing and if you are part of a local group that would like to meet with us, please let us know via the contact page.
The comments and feedback we have received so far will be de-identified and passed on to the National Capital Authority (NCA) as part of their consultation phase on the reclassified use of this land.
The NCA consultation process started on 1 October 2015 and runs until 13 November 2015. You can find out more about leaving feedback or attending an event on the NCA website.
While we welcome your comments at any time via the contact page, we won’t be holding any CSIRO drop-in sessions during the NCA consultation process.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be exploring some of the key themes in more detail in the News section of this website, so check back each week for updates.
Don’t forget if you’d like updates straight to your inbox you can subscribe to our monthly email updates.
We look forward to continuing the conversation about the future of the Ginninderra Field Station.