Category: Uncategorized

The final Curtin Master Plan is published: mainly good, must be implemented

The final version of the Curtin Group Centre Master Plan has been released by ACT government directorate for Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development.

The plan is here (PDF document, 12.4 MB)
https://www.planning.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/1286387/Curtin-Masterplan-Final-ACCESS.pdf

The plan contains a lot of the community interest and input from years of work by people in and around Curtin. The building heights around the small central square are set at maximum 1 storey or 5 metres around 3 sides, and a setback then up to 5 storeys on the fourth southern side. This should maintain much of the sunlight in the square through the year. There can be a 5 storey building at the southwestern corner which will unfortunately cast shadows in the afternoons in spring and autumn, when children and parents are in the square, but the plan keeps this building height back to the edge in line with the Coles building line (not its awning).  The plan shows the opportunities for developing business and accommodation around the centre, while keeping the heart of its community, urban village character at the centre.

Now this plan needs to be implemented as regulations and enforced in practice, because the square is so small that we cannot allow it to be nibbled away at the edges. The plan talks about improving waste management, service access, car parking and pedestrian access. It emphasises the idea of using the Radburn principles of openness and working with the green spaces for pedestrian and cycle access through the centre and into the neighbourhoods of Curtin. This is a successful place for living and working and playing, a good plan will keep this working and not need to make places from scratch.

There are opportunities for development around the centre. The plan shows ways of developing to 6 storeys on the existing hotel area in the southern side of the centre, at a good distance from the square. This is shown to allow good green areas and business frontages at the human scale for people to use the centre, encouraging access as walkers and cyclists, and being an attractive place for car users as they park cars and become local pedestrians.

The government must also follow up implementing its share of the plan, and make investment in managing services, maintaining and improving the infrastructure of roads and car-parking, green spaces and pathways in Curtin as for the good of everyone in Canberra. This plan is the start of showing where and how – it also needs to be implemented in actions.

media release 5 August: Curtin surprised by application to reconsider failed development proposal in Curtin shops

The President of the Curtin Residents Association, Chris Johnson, said “I am surprised – and staggered – by the unexpected submission of a modified proposal to redevelop the building at 44 Curtin Place. Thisnew proposal was submitted to ACTPLA as a request to reconsider the development application that was rejected by ACT Planning and Land Authority nearly 18 months ago.  Normally, any request for reconsideration must be submitted within three weeks of the decision and only involve small changes.”

The decision to accept this application for reconsideration is totally inconsistent with a trustworthy public planning and development process,”said Mr Johnson.

The new proposal is for a block of one storey on the western edge of the Curtin square, extending to 5 storeys at the corner.  It is very different from the original development application. Therefore, in keeping with its own planning processes, ACTPLA must provide a reasonable opportunity for the community to respond to this new development proposal.

The developer has submitted their new proposal just before the new Curtin Master Plan is to be finalised along with the likely introduction of new planning rules. The developers cannot know what the final Master Plan and these planning rules will be and ACTPLA should not have accepted any request for reconsideration like this.  ACTPLA should certainly not try to assess any development proposals until the latest version of the Master Plan is made public and after subsequent comments have been received and properly considered.

The first community consultations about the Curtin Group Centre were held in 2015 and in the first draft master plan was developed soon after.  In early 2017, more than 700 people rallied in Curtin Square and nearly 2,000 people from Curtin and surrounding suburbs signed a petition to the ACT Minister for Planning to ask that no development applications should be considered until the Master Plan was made final.  After the first development application was rejected the government asked all parties to participate in meetings of a community panel, which resulted in a revised master plan for Curtin.  This revision was published for public comment in May and June 2018, and the final result has not yet been made public for approval by the Legislative Assembly or the Minister. It is expected by the end of 2018.

Only last week, the ACT Government stated in its Our Canberra brochure that the “Master Plan for the Curtin Group Centre is almost finished”.  Mr Johnson stated that “Any move to reconsider a development proposal before the Plan is finalised will kill any trust in the Government’s planning process that has been built up by the long community consultation process.”

The developer’s reconsideration application allows only 3 weeks for comments [since extended, to 11 September]. “If the process of writing the new master plan had made no progress for the past two years this might be a good way to speed up development of replacement shops in Curtin.  But the Master Plan is still being developed and, although the process is slow, it is close to being finished. There is no good public reason to reconsider this application in this way. The developer should not be allowed to rush the process.”

The time for responding to the new proposal is dangerously short.  The developer’s application consists of 49 separate documents and these require careful and detailed analysis by the community.

It is not clear what rules and criteria ACTPLA will use to assess the developer’s application for reconsideration.  “Nobody can make meaningful comments when the background rules are unknown.  Is this new proposal going to be evaluated against the old precinct code (allowing 2 storeys maximum?) or the draft master plan (2 storeys in one part, and 4 storeys in another?) or the revised master plan (which allows 1 storey in part, and possibly 5 storeys, only under some conditions)?

This new proposal anticipates that the revised Master Plan will be accepted – but the directorate has not yet finished collating all of the comments and other submissions.  The application tries to cherry-pick parts of the existing Territory Plan, Precinct Code, Draft Master Plan and Revised Master Plan while ignoring the planning controls that the community expects to see and ignoring the character of Curtin as an urban village. The final height constraints in the Curtin Master Plan are still unknown and the proposed heights in both the first and revised drafts were strongly contested by the community.

 

CRA meeting about the new Draft Master Plan for Curtin Group Centre – public responses are open

The Curtin Residents Association will hold a meeting for members and interested prospective members on Sunday 6 May, from 2 to 4 pm. This time we will be at the Hughes Community Centre at the Hughes shops.

At this meeting we will explain the revised draft of the Master Plan for the Curtin Group Centre. This plan is open for public comment until 6 June.

The plan has been posted on the windows of Coles Curtin supermarket, and is online at https://www.yoursay.act.gov.au/curtin-group-centre-master-plan-2

This plan has been developed from the previous draft that we saw in 2016 and from the community panel process during 2017, at which the government planners heard from developers and community groups including the Curtin Residents Association.

This revision has good points, and some not-so-good, that we think need to be discussed by the community, the residents and users of the Curtin Centre.

We encourage you to submit your comments, whether you are supporting or objecting to the plan. We need to make a strong response to the government to show them how the plan and the centre are still important to the local community.

Fences in Curtin Square January 2018

All of the shops in the block at 44 Curtin Place are now closed and an ugly fence has been erected on public land around the building – but no demolition or rebuilding work has been approved. The leaseholder has made no new proposal to the ACT Government to redevelop the site.

The media reported on the fence soon after it went up:

  • The Canberra Times ran a story on Thursday 11 January  ‘To Me This Is Greed‘
  • CRA President Chris Johnson was interviewed on 2CC on Thursday 11 Jan.
  • WIN-TV asked for a statement. We wrote:

Building fenced off but no rebuilding proposal

Curtin residents are angry and disappointed that some of their shops have been forced to close – and are now fenced off – when no proposal to rebuild has been approved.

The community is looking to the leaseholder to work with government planners to achieve a development that suits the Curtin Group Centre’s urban village character and meets the Draft Master Plan and ACT Planning Regulations. It has been a year since the first proposal was rejected.

Jobs and viable businesses have been lost or disrupted because of the forced closures, and other businesses in the Centre are suffering. Nobody in government has looked out for these small businesses and jobs.

An intrusive fence around the building encroaches onto Curtin Square and squeezes pedestrians and other businesses in the pedestrian laneway. The ugly side of this action is that services to the community have been lost, and the redevelopment is no closer to starting.

— we will keep you informed —

First Curtin Autumn Fair Saturday 6 May

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.

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.

 

Successful rally in Curtin Square

It was a great morning to come to Curtin Square, over 700 people were there. A great morning, and  hopes for success.

The rally is reported in the Canberra Times 21 January online: Curtin says no to high rise development.

Thanks to everyone who came, and to all the volunteers who made it fly. And there was music – thanks Dan and Fred.

The rally was  reported in The Chronicle/Queanbeyan Age (page 4, and also in the WVCC segment on p8) Thursday 24 January 2017