The first Curtin Autumn Fair will be held on Saturday 6 May, 10am to 2pm in Curtin Square. The Fair will celebrate and build Curtin’s community spirit that was seen so strongly in action over summer.
This is the first Autumn Fair to be held in Curtin, and we plan that it will be an annual event.
There will be stalls as fundraisers for community organisations, craft demonstrations, information tables for local groups, buskers and a barbecue. Children will enjoy the interactive art adventures and storytelling. The Canberra and District Historical Society will hold their open day outside their resource centre at Curtin centre, as part of the Canberra and Region Heritage Festival.
The response from local businesses has been overwhelming, with many supporting and sponsoring the Fair.
The Fair is being organised by a subcommittee of the Curtin Residents Association. The Fair will be inclusive and non-political.
Category: Curtin
Curtin Square planning petition signed by 22% of Curtin
The Association’s petition to the legislative assembly asking that the Minister stick to the building heights in the draft Master Plan, of 2 storeys in the square and 4 outside it – it’s attracted over 847 signatures from adults living in Curtin. The population of Curtin is approx 5,175 [2011 census, according to Wikipedia] of all ages. Around 25% are under 18 (ACT distribution) leaving a candidate population of 75% of 5175=3881.
This means that 22% of the Curtin population have signed on.
This is incredibly high. It shows that the Curtin community is clearly together on this.
The Curtin signatures are 62% of the total. Another 20% come from in the rest of the group centre catchment of 5 suburbs: Lyons, Hughes, Deakin, Yarralumla and Garran. This amounts to 9.3% of the adults in this wider area.
Curtin Place Development – on the radio and print media
Our concern about the Curtin Place development proposal was featured in the Canberra Times on Wednesday 11 January: Curtin Call to Reduce Size of Development
and in the CT editorial on Thursday 12 January: Curtin Shops Proposal the Canary in the Coalmine (Destroying Canberra in to Save it?)
The Rally is reported in the Canberra Times 21 January: Curtin says no to high rise development
and in The Chronicle/Queanbeyan Age 24 January, p.4: Shops Saga Continues.
and there’s more recently: the Toilets Story in the Chronicle Tuesday 1 February
and the Canberra Times Thursday 2 February, Curtin Developers Deny Hardball Tactics in Threat to Hoard Up Shops.
The EPSD is considering all the objections to the development application: in the Canberra Times, Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development director-general Dorte Ekelund set to leave CT 2 February.
‘One of the incendiary issues around planning is public consultation on development proposals and whether it makes any difference.
Ms Ekelund is adamant it can.
“We’ve got such a well-educated and engaged community and planning is an innately political thing, because it’s about our democracy, it’s about how change occurs in the environment and there is always going to be people who are for something and people who are against something,” she said.
“The community knows a lot of stuff that our technical people might not be so close to, so consultation is really part of the planning process.
With the Curtin shops masterplan the latest planning battleground, Ms Ekelund said the proposal, including a six-storey building, was still a draft and there was still a development application to consider.
“There’s still a requirement to consider how the proposal fits into the context and how it contributes to the amenity and character of the area, so it’s still a matter we need to consider,” she said.’
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Radio interviews on Wednesday morning 11 January on 2CA 1206 (no link) and again later day; and
on ABC local radio Canberra (previously known as 666) Stoush over Curtin shops development heights
Several letters have also been published in the Canberra Times
- Disaster in Curtin (Scott Humphries, letters, Jan 5) The Curtin shops proposal makes no attempt to respond to existing character, and it will overshadow and dominate the public square.
- Six storeys are an unwelcome development for area’s amenity (Peter Graves, letters, Jan 12)
- Adjust the height (Jeremy McGrane, letters, Jan 13)
- Consultation? Don’t Ask (Penny Moyes, letters Jan 16). “This is what you’re going to get unless you scream“
- Public ignored on high-rise (Chris Emery) and Barr stays silent (John Mungoven) (letters Jan 17) The ABC flats redevelopment, and “a deep concern in our community about the direction, scale and frenetic pace of building development, planing issues and community consultation”.
- The real stakeholders (untitled online) (Chris Johnson) and Disease Taking Hold , (Murray May) (letters Jan 20)
- On submission roundabout (David Biles) letters Jan 29
- Development application stress could bring down the curtain (Peter Graves) letters Jan 31
- Curtin clash (Howard Carew, Peter Graves) letters Feb 2/3
Rally – 11am Saturday 21st January in Curtin Square
Please Walk or Bike to the rally if you can – parking is always tight, and will be very challenged on Saturday.
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Save Curtin Square
Protest Rally
11am Saturday 21 January 2017
Come along to hear about the development application, show your concern, sign the petition and hear how to make a response or objection
The facts
• it will be equivalent in height to a 8-storey building
• many existing shops have not been guaranteed space in the new building.
We say the risk to Curtin is too great
• the building will make parking more difficult for shoppers and visitors to cafés, gym, dentist and doctor
• the 50 apartments will make traffic problems worse for shoppers and nearby residents
• we will lose shops that make Curtin Square a unique and interesting place with its own identity
• we risk losing Curtin’s strongest feature—its sense of community
• we are not against development, but this one is not right for the square.
Book launch – 4 pm, Thursday 8 December
Book launch for Curtin turns 50 at 4 pm, Thursday 8 December.
All are very welcome at the launch of the book Curtin turns 50: the story of a Canberra suburb 1964–2014. It is all about the history of your suburb. The book launch will be held in the square at Curtin shops. It is your chance to buy your own copy of this interesting and relevant book.
Meeting with the Planning Directorate
Meeting with the Planning Directorate of the ACT Government.
Following an exchange of letters with the Minister, and with the Minister’s encouragement, two Committee members from the Curtin Residents Association met with the Project Manager for the Curtin Group Centre Master Plan. The meeting was helpful in rounding out our understanding of the process by which a development proposal for 44 Curtin Place will be evaluated. As we understand the situation, the Government has yet to receive a proposal from the developer, although discussions between the Government and the developer are ongoing. Given the extensive planning and consultation captured in the Draft Master Plan, it would be appropriate if development proposals were to be evaluated against that Draft Plan. However, advice to the Committee is that, until the Plan is finalised, evaluation will be against the current, much less prescriptive, rules. Accordingly, we have written again to the Minister requesting that the Plan be finalised as soon as possible.
Plant and cake stall
Plant and cake stall at the Curtin shops from 9 am to 12 noon, Saturday 26 November.
The Curtin Shops Garden Group is raising funds for the restoration of the John Curtin Garden, which is the garden at the shops on Carruthers St with the stone wall which names our suburb. Most of the plants are already in but the Garden Group now needs to pay for brickwork (steps, ramp and garden border) as well as preparing the surface and installing a seat.
The Garden Group will have a good selection of plants, cakes and other items for sale. There is also a raffle with prizes donated by Curtin businesses. Come along and buy raffle tickets, delicious cakes or locally grown plants—the group would appreciate your support. For more information contact Evan Mann on evan.mann@netspeed.com.au.
Questions on planning for Curtin shops sent to ACT Election Candidates
The following email was sent to Candidates in the Electorate of Murrumbidgee about the Proposed Development of 44 Curtin Place (Curtin Shops)
We are writing to you as a candidate for the seat of Murrumbidgee in the upcoming ACT election.
The Curtin Residents Association (CRA) is a recently established community group intended to support the Curtin community to maintain and enhance the qualities of the suburb. The CRA has been involved in discussion among Curtin residents on the Master Plan for the Curtin Group Centre being developed by the ACT Government. I imagine you are aware that a draft Master Plan was released in November 2015 and that the final version is due to be approved after the election.
In recent months, the owners of one of the blocks of shops in the Curtin Centre (44 Curtin Place) have proposed replacing the existing single storey building with a multi-storey shopping and residential building.
The owners have undertaken consultations with Curtin residents including through a series of community meetings. The CRA appreciates this consultative approach and acknowledges the owners’ long association with the Curtin Group Centre.
However, the CRA has concerns about some aspects of the proposal which are inconsistent with the recommendations of the draft Curtin Group Centre Master Plan. There is also concern that the proposal may be lodged and assessed as a development application before the final Master Plan is issued and its key recommendations incorporated in the Territory Plan. The 44 Curtin Place website envisages that demolition could start by October 2017.
We are seeking advice of election candidates as to their views. The first of the two attached documents contains four questions on aspects of the proposal to develop 44 Curtin Place. The second contains more detailed background on the proposal and CRA’s position with respect to it; the results of public consultations conducted in connection with the Curtin Group Centre Master Planning process; relevant suggestions and recommendations of the draft Master Plan; and about CRA itself.
We hope you will be able to provide us with answers to the questions in a form that would allow us to place them on the CRA website for Curtin residents, and the public more generally. We think you will find answering the questions relatively easy. Please contact us, however, if you would like to discuss any of the questions before answering them or
if you have any concern about your response being placed on our website.
We aim to start putting answers on our website from the beginning of October and we would ask for your response no later than Friday 7 October.
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Chris Johnson Honorary Secretary, Curtin Residents Association m 0401 498 684 e info@curtinresidents.asn.au w www.curtinresidents.asn.au
44 Curtin Place Proposal
The proposal to demolish and rebuild on 44 Curtin Place led to the developer organising three information sessions, a week apart, in June. The sessions were well attended, particularly the third session as the word from the first two spread around the community. The developers invited comments under the heading of “seeing if a trade-off” can be found between their proposal and community concerns, as expressed from the floor at the information sessions. The CRA has emailed the developers with a list of concerns focussed on additional information and the level of assurances around solar access, height profiles of the proposed built form and public amenity issues such as parking and attention to public amenity. The (draft) Curtin Group Master Plan is a reference for many residents and has formed the platform for discussions with the ACT Government as well as with the developer. The outcome of these discussions will be posted on this site as various aspects are clarified.
Welcome
Curtin Residents Association, Inc.
Curtin Residents Association works to care for Curtin, organising community events and acting to make an even better place to live.
This is the CRA Home page. Scroll down for other recent information postings.
If you are a CRA member you can add a posting to the site by sending an email to info@curtinresidents.asn.au .
Curtin Residents Association ABN 69 953 291 646
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