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.

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