Ginninderra News
01 Oct 2015
What’s next?
The National Capital Authority (NCA) has accepted our request for the Ginninderra Site to be considered as ‘Urban Area’ in the National Capital Plan Draft Amendment 86 released in September 2015.
But we are still only at the beginning.
This request paves the way for new opportunities for this land’s use. While it’s too early to know exactly how the land would be used, an urban area classification allows for future uses including residential, commercial, community services, recreation and conservation areas. We will continue to request input from you, ACT residents, on the future of this site.
Our consultation sessions held it Evatt, Gold Creek and Fraser were well attended with more than 300 people taking the time to talk to us about their ideas for the future of the site.
We’ve also met with community groups, conservation groups and residents, and we would like to thank everyone who took the time to attend a meeting or a drop in session. Your feedback means a lot to us and will help shape the future of the site.
The National Capital Authority will be running its own consultation process for 6 weeks until 13 November 2015. For more information and to leave comments or feedback visit the NCA website.
If you have any further suggestions, concerns or ideas regarding the future use of the Ginninderra Field Station, please submit your feedback to the NCA or directly to CSIRO. You can contact us directly through the contact page.
I was very disappointed to hear of plans to re zone the rural outlook that was the single most significant factor in deciding to buy in Fraser. I expect there are enormous financial gains to be made in residential development & sales, with ongoing revenue through land rates & services, so I wonder if other uses of this land such as recreational or conservation are very likely.
Since the development of Gungahlin suburbs the road infrastructure into the city centre is already heavily congested at peak times, especially through Dickson. Are there plans to upgrade access to the city to cater for additional loads that would result from re zoning Ginninderra Field Station?
I wondered also if there is a proposed schedule for the commencement of any development yet.
Thank you for your feedback regarding the CSIRO Ginninderra site. Apologies for the delayed response.
CSIRO has identified through a review process that this site is underutilised and as contemplated by the Government’s asset rationalisation program, this provides the opportunity to consider alternative uses which could include development and sale of the site. Proceeds from a future sale would be reinvested into CSIRO’s property and infrastructure at other priority sites. We need to consider all opportunities for reinvestment.
Approximately 150+ hectares of the land is unlikely to be developable due to topography, heritage and ecological values as well as CSIRO’s commitment to green space, which will provide valuable recreational and conservation areas and preserve a number of the views currently experienced of the hills and ridges from adjoining suburbs. Consideration to open space areas that will be designed for a mixture of environmental and recreational benefits will include consideration for wildlife which are likely to traverse the property between breeding areas in Gungahlin and nursery/dispersal areas in Belconnen. This would allow, where possible, for the retention of mature eucalypts and a program for ongoing management of the urban forest to the benefit of ecological values and the community in general.
The project team working on the biodiversity assessment aspect of the project were responsible for preparation of the Gungahlin Strategic Assessment and are also presently working with the Riverview Group and ACT Government (LDA) in preparation of the West Belconnen Strategic Assessment. This provides for a consistency in the approach to landscape connectivity given a detailed appreciation of the broader opportunities and constraints.
We are taking all feedback into consideration to allow us to maximise the land for use by the surrounding community, and to ensure that we take into account the need for additional infrastructure and community facilities in the event of development on the site. Some preliminary traffic studies have been undertaken to understand the capacity of the surrounding road network, and these studies will continue throughout the project to ensure traffic and all other infrastructure requirements are taken into account as the project progresses.
CSIRO anticipates this process will take some time. Should the National Capital Plan be amended to include this site as ‘Urban Area’, we anticipate that the first land release would not occur for at least 4-5 years followed by the possibility of 10-12 years of delivery.
We appreciate your interest and welcome further feedback you may have as we progress.