General Meeting
via Zoom
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81487042423
17 August 2021
7pm
AGENDA
7pm Welcome and COVID-19 Update from ACT
7.05pm Chair’s Report
7.15pm MLAs update
7.25pm ICON water charges and pricing consultation
8.05pm ACT Conservation Society – North Lawson update
8.30pm Canberra Hospital Phase 2 Consultation
9pm Close
Next meeting: Annual General Meeting 7pm Tuesday 21 September 2021
In Person: Holy Cross Church Emu Bank Belconnen
Online: via Zoom
It’s been a relatively quiet month with end of financial year activities running most of our processes to ground until early August.
One huge step forward was our community’s win with the Green Waste Recycling facility operated by CSG at Parkwood. After our meeting last month, we undertook to write to Minister Steel and the day after our letter was received, the decision was made to extend the license to operate at Parkwood on a month by month basis until a new site can be identified, secured and transition plan put in place. Congratulations to everyone who took the time to sign a petition, come to a meeting or speak with our Ginninderra MLAs over the last few months; you spoke and the ACT Government listened. We are yet to fully understand the process being undertaken to select a new site, what consultation will occur with the community and what the timeframes look like, but I suspect with the ongoing hard work of our Ministers, Committee Chairs and input from our other local MLAs we won’t be forgotten on this important issue. This community has always prided itself on leading the way with new initiatives that benefit the environment and our people; your Committee will continue to keep this issue on the front burner with the Government to deliver an outcome that suits the needs of everyone who lives, works and play in our district. Our thanks to the Minister for his quick response after our representations.
There is plenty of interest in the current crop of sites identified for sale in the Town Centre; media coverage of the Old Water Police site has been high after concerns were raised by residents about encroaching on the waterfront. Tonight we have dedicated a whole session to discussing impacts any development might have on the area with the good people from the Suburban Land Agency helping us out with answers. In the suburbs adjacent to the Town Centre, there are concerns for the ongoing plans for North Lawson and the former Naval Station, as well as interest in the proposed tree trial for the Jamison precinct. Both issues are deeply felt in the communities around them and if you have feedback you’d like to provide, please get in touch with us through the Facebook or web pages.
And as always, a plea to our members to think about stepping up and becoming a committee member. We are in need of new faces to help take us through 2021 so if you have just a couple of hours to spare we would be grateful for your help!
Glen Hyde
Chair
Belconnen Community Council
20 July 2021
Belconnen Community Council Inc.
General Meeting
Holy Cross Church
9 Emu Bank Belconnen
via Zoom
15 June 2021
7pm
AGENDA
7pm Welcome and COVID-19 Update from ACT
7.05pm Chair’s Report
7.15pm MLAs update
7.25pm Suburban Land Agency – Place Design Brief
8.10pm Placeholder – ICON Water Belconnen Trunk Sewer
8.30pm Close
Next meeting: General Meeting 7pm Tuesday 20 July 2021
Via Zoom
Belconnen Community Council Inc.
General Meeting
via Zoom
18 May 2021
7pm
AGENDA
7pm Welcome and COVID-19 Update from ACT
7.05pm Chair’s Report
7.15pm MLAs update
7.25pm Belconnen Town Centre Land Release phase 2 presentation
8pm Ginninderry update/BCC Budget Submission
8.30pm Close
Next meeting: General Meeting 7pm Tuesday 15 June 2021
Holy Cross Church 9 Emu Bank Belconnen
Late last year your BCC Committee were approached by Melba resident Tim Korsopp seeking assistance to form a proposal for an inclusive playground for the suburb.
Over the last few months, Tim and fellow Melba resident Hector Contreras have developed a high level document outlining the proposal and presented it at our February Committee meeting. They have also created a Facebook page S.M.I.L.E so residents can get information and exchange ideas on the proposal.
Your BCC Committee endorsed the proposal and will be partnering with Tim, Hector and other residents to put the proposal to our local Ginninderra MLAs for support. Eventually, we would like to see the proposal picked up by the ACT Government as part of the next budget allocation for feasability studies and implementation funding. Special thanks to Melba IGA for their generous donations to make today’s event a success.
There is more information published on the S.M.I.L.E page or get in touch with us if you want to know more.
The Natural Resource Management team want to hear from the ACT community, to create a shared vision for ways in which they manage the ACT’s Natural Resources.
You can find the revised flood study of 2020 which updates the previous study here:
http://www.belcouncil.org.au/documents/kippax-revised-flood-study/
Another month has passed us by in 2021 but finally the work has started on the duplication of Gundaroo Drive. It has taken a number of years to get this important work underway and after almost a decade of constant lobbying through budget submissions and the like, we will see this crucial thoroughfare that links us to Gungahlin deliver better outcomes for those who live, work and play in our district.
The ACT Government has delivered on the traffic controls at Owen Dixon Drive, but more needs to be done with Kuringa Drive to make it a safer connection to West Belconnen. With more people moving into the West Belconnen area over the next decade and beyond, the demand on our roadways will only increase and the northern corridors are just as important as those to the south.
Speaking of growth, we come to this month’s big topic: Kippax Centre expansion. Our efforts to bring the spotlight back onto this important project has produced some interesting results. Media were quick to pick the story up again, as were EPSDD once word got around the community. We had written to them in January and throughout February; the result now being that we have engagement with the Directorate again and some understanding of next steps for the site investigations being undertaken.
While we make no judgement of why this work was to be undertaken without wide consultation and community awareness, the fact that state of play has changed is the important thing.
As is the updated design from the Owners of Kippax Fair and Canberra Town Planning. The BCC Committee have been consulted and involved in the new design which we believe is ready for socialising with our community. There are improvements that bring this version more into alignment with community expectations that have been discussed regularly since 2014; it’s been pleasing to see this embodied in so many of the changes in this design offering.
While it won’t meet everyone’s expectations, we have taken the view that we can’t wait for a “perfect solution” to materialise. There are concessions that need to be made by all parties to ensure a quality piece of community infrastructure is available to the generations who follow us. I’m reminded of the concerns raised in the 1970s with the design of Benjamin and Eastern Valley Ways that capped and redirected flood plains through the new Town Centre down to Emu Bank. The general opposition was that this would create all kinds of environmental and water movement problems that would last for generations. What did occur was better design options, changes to water disbursement and catchment practices; since then the BTC has flourished and I see no barrier to that in this process.
Glen Hyde
Chair, Belconnen Community Council
15 March 2021
Belconnen Land Release Sites – Phase 2 workshops are now available on YourSay for registration.
Online
In-person
Alternately, if neither of these workshop dates suit you, please feel free to give us your views in the phase 2 survey available on YourSay.
Late last year your BCC Committee were approached by Melba resident Tim Korsopp seeking assistance to form a proposal for an inclusive playground for the suburb.
Over the last few months, Tim and fellow Melba resident Hector Contreras have developed a high level document outlining the proposal and presented it at our February Committee meeting. They have also created a Facebook page S.M.I.L.E so residents can get information and exchange ideas on the proposal.
Your BCC Committee endorsed the proposal and will be partnering with Tim, Hector and other residents to put the proposal to our local Ginninderra MLAs for support. Eventually, we would like to see the proposal picked up by the ACT Government as part of the next budget allocation for feasability studies and implementation funding.
There will be more information published shortly, but please visit the S.M.I.L.E page or get in touch with us if you want more information.