Gungahlin community welcomes developments but urges co-ordination

Gungahlin’s rapid pace of development is a source of excitement and one of caution for the local community council.

Gungahlin Community Council president Peter Elford says the general view welcomes news such as the recent announcement of a new cinema and retail precinct that will begin construction in 2017.

“It would be difficult to find anyone who wasn’t happy about that and we join the enthusiasm for the further development of the town centre,” he says.

“Other news on the development of high rises and the eventual arrival of light rail are also clear signs that the area is moving forward.”

Elford and the council’s key concern is that there is no clear understanding that the different strands of development are being co-ordinated.

“For instance, there are precinct codes that seem to be able to be worked around, so that areas that were once earmarked for office are now becoming residential,” he says.

“We’re also still waiting to hear on the relocation of a government agency and this runs the danger that we’re going to see an imbalance between commercial and residential developments.”

Elford says a good first step would be for the key agencies involved to clearly communicate how they were working together and to share that with the community.

“We’re not really hearing how they are guiding the big picture,” he says.

The community council president says it might be timely to hold a “summit” to enable all stakeholders to participate in a pulse-taking of Gungahlin’s development.

“We’d welcome that and would love to participate,” he says.

The new entertainment precinct announced late last week will comprise 20,000 square metres of retail and cinema space with basement parking for 310 cars.

Leasing agent Guy Randell from Burgess Rawson Canberra says the precinct will attract a mix of tenants who will offer a compelling destination for dining, retail and entertainment.

“This is an exciting project with a strong vision to provide eating, relaxing and shopping options for Gungahlin residents and those from further afield,” he says.

The entertainment precinct announcement was followed by news of a development application for a 170-unit mixed-use complex that has been lodged with the ACT Planning and Land Authority.

That followed plans for two separate Gungahlin Town Centre developments that were unveiled last month: a 26-storey, 300-unit development with a rooftop restaurant, and a 14-storey, 145-unit complex to be built around a 300-year-old eucalyptus tree.