Belconnen

BCC AGM 15 November 2016

Belconnen Community Council Inc.
Annual General Meeting followed by General Meeting
15 November 2016, 7:30 – 9:00 pm
Venue: Community Room Belconnen Library
AGENDA
1. 7:30 pm Welcome & and call for apologies
2. 7:35 pm AGM Business
(a) Chair’s Annual Report – BCC Chair, Damien Haas
(b) Acceptance of previous AGM Minutes
(c) Acceptance of audited accounts.
(d) Public Officer declares all committee positions vacant.
Committee appointments for 2016-17 announced:
Chair: Elizabeth Hirst
Deputy Chair: Glen Hyde
Secretary: Chander Khera
Committee members:
Damien Haas,
Brian Rhynehart
Charles Thomas
Treasurer position nominations called for from the floor.
Other Committee positions called for from the floor.
(e) Appointment of Richard Trevanion as auditor for 2016-17
8:00 pm AGM declared closed.
General Meeting 15 November 2016,
AGENDA
1. 8:02 pm Chair’s report including Belco50
BCC Chair, Damien Haas
2. 8:15 pm David Collett, Executive Director, Public Housing Renewal Taskforce
3. 8:30 pm Emu Bank and Kippax Fair Discussion
4. 8:45 pm Other Business
4. 9:00 pm Meeting Close
November 14, 2016 in Community, Meetings, Notices

BCC Monthly Public Meeting 19 July 2016

The next Belconnen Community Council public meeting will be held at the Belconnen Library Community Room on July 19 at 7.00PM.

All are welcome.

Following recent NCA planning changes there are questions about the future of the CSIRO Ginninderra field site, and how it will affect Belconnen residents. CSIRO representatives will talk with the Belconnen community about these changes and provide an  opportunity for the public to ask questions about them.

Daniel Iglesias, Director of ACT Parks and Conservation Service, and Dr Jason Cummings, General Manager of the Woodland and Wetlands Trust will talk about quolls, where they have been seen, how they are managed, and other interesting things the Parks Service is doing. The quoll population in Canberra is growing with the reintroduction of eastern quolls at the Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary. Spotted tail quolls have recently been seen in Charnwood and Holt indicating that they are returning to the ecosystem.

There will also be an update on Belco50 events and activities

The BCC are seeking a new Committee member. If you have an interest in community issues and are an eligible BCC member, please consider nominating. Email [email protected]u for further information.

Agenda

7.00PM – Apologies

7.05PM – Chairs report

7.15PM – CSIRO on the Ginninderra Field Site

8.00PM – ACT Parks and Conservation Service on Quolls

8.45PM – Other Business

9.00PM – Meeting Closed

Facebook pages: Belconnen Community Council and Belco50

July 16, 2016 in Community, Meetings, Notices Comments (0)

Belconnens 50th Birthday 23 June 2016 – All welcome

Belconnens 50th Birthday 23 June 2016

Belconnens 50th Birthday 23 June 2016

All Belconnen residents are invited  to the Official ceremony commemorating Belconnen’s 50th birthday.

The Belco50 Committee are planning a mid morning event at the Aranda Playing fields on 23 June 2016

Briefly, the ceremony will consist of a Welcome to Country, a short introduction from the Chair of the Belconnen Community Council, and an address by Minister Chris Bourke (representing the Chief Minister who will be overseas). Refreshments will be provided

The birthday celebration begins at 10.30AM. Displays of historic photos and a document to be signed for later placement in a time capsule will be available.

There will be cake!

June 19, 2016 in Community, Meetings, News, News and Events, Notices Comments (0)

BCC Monthly Public Meeting June 21st 7PM

The monthly public meeting of the Belconnen Community Council will take place at 7PM on June 21 2016 at the Community Room above the Belconnen Library.

This month we have the opportunity to engage in community consultation with three different organisations proposing development in the Belconnen Town Centre.

We will also discuss the Belco50 celebrations commencing on June 23.

Stewart Architecture on behalf of the Rock Development Group will present new plans to fill the giant hole in the ground at the Belconnen Markets, and seek feedback from the community. The proposed buildings will be 6 storeys high, between the Belconnen Markets and Belconnen Way, and have ground level retail space.

The Land Development Agency would like to discuss options for the old Water Police site on Lake Ginninderra. The site is small with room for a retail only building no higher than two storeys. Public access to the jetty and boat ramp must remain. No decisions or plan have been made yet, and public views are now being sought on options and ideas for this site.

Elton Consulting will present plans for the block behind the Belconnen Labor Club (Section 200). Canberra developer GEOCON purchased this block in 2015, and would like to present preliminary plans to the public ahead of lodging a DA. This site is proposed for a 27 storey mixed use building facing the lake.

A brief agenda is:

  • Meeting Opens 7PM
  • Chairs report
  • Belco50
  • Stewart Architects – Belconnen Markets proposal
  • Elton Consulting – Geocon Section 200
  • LDA – Water Police site options
  • Other business
  • Meeting closes 9PM

All residents of Belconnen are invited to attend.

June 12, 2016 in Community, General, Government, Meetings, Planning Comments (1)

Belconnen and the ACT Budget

The ACT Budget was handed down this week and it appears to be a safe and steady budget, with a focus on services. Investment will be focused on schools, hospitals, roads and parks. Oddly for an election year, little pork barreling seems to have occurred anywhere in Canberra.
The biggest single investment in Belconnen is for the University of Canberra Public Hospital currently being constructed on the corner of Aikman and Ginninderra Drive. The investment in that facility from this budget is $212 million dollars, and will benefit all of Canberra, not just Belconnen residents. As well as much needed health facilities it will provide jobs and become part of the integration of UC with the town centre.
Some budget announcements that directly benefited Belconnen were the announcement of the duplication of Aikman Drive and upgrades to local shopping centres at Charnwood and Spence.Belconnen schools will receive upgrades, such as an early learning space to be built at Maribyrnong Primary in Kaleen and the CIT in Bruce will receive 1.7M dollars  towards upgrades.

Local playgrounds in Florey and Evatt will be also be provided with finds for upgrades and improvements.

The 9.8M dollar Aikman Drive duplication announcement is an important step in smoothing traffic through the town centre, especially with a growing population accessing town centre services, such as the UC Public Hospital that is being built right now. As well as the road duplication, a cycle path and footpath will be constructed.

Other heavily used arterial roads in the area require attention, such as Kuringa Drive and William Slim Drive, and the BCC will continue to lobby for those upgrades.

The ACT Treasury has prepared a Belconnen specific budget breakdown (available from this link). As your community council we would like to ask you:

  • What do you think of this budget?
  • Where can the government invest our money and improve Belconnen?
  • What specific improvements do you think are needed?
Please email us at: [email protected]
June 12, 2016 in Community, General, Government, Information Comments (3)

Public meeting – Ginninderra Falls and the Murrumbidgee Gorge

The Ginninderra Falls Association are hosting a  public meeting.

Tuesday, 31 May 2016 –

5:30pm to 7:00pm

Cook Community Hub
41 Templeton St Cook

Light refreshments will be provided.

Agenda

Introduction Dr Douglas Finlayson Ginninderra Falls Association
Speakers Damon Cusack, David Wong Ginninderra Catchment Group
Professor Ian Falconer ANU, ACF, ACT and Region Catchment Management Coordination Group
Brian Rhynehart GFA – European history
Shane Mortimer Ngambri Elder
Panel Discussion Q&A Session

 

The Hub is the previous Cook primary school. There are three buildings and the relevant one is on the right as you look fromthe road. There is a parking lot in the middle which should be available. There is another one at the rear if necessary. The room we will be using is the Education Room of the Heraldry and Genealogy Society. This room is at the end of thecorridor on the right, just before the doors into Companion House.

May 27, 2016 in Community, Meetings, Planning Comments (1)

National Capital Plan Amendment 86 – Revised National Capital Plan

The BCC received the following communication from the National Capital Authority on 11 May 2016.

“I am writing in relation to your submissions on both National Capital Plan Draft Amendment 85 – West Belconnen Urban Development and Draft Amendment 86 – Revised National Capital Plan.

On 5 May 2016, the Minister for Major Projects, Territories and Local Government, the Hon. Paul Fletcher, approved Amendment 86 – Revised National Capital Plan. Amendment 86 incorporates the changes to the Plan proposed by Draft Amendment 85 – West Belconnen Urban Development, and varies the land use policy for the West Belconnen area from ‘Hills, Ridges and Buffer Spaces’ to ‘Urban Areas’. To simplify the approvals process the National Capital Authority (NCA) elected to combine the two proposals. Amendment 86 took effect on 6 May 2016.

The Minister’s decision to approve the revised Plan introduces a range of changes to the land use planning framework of the ACT. Among these are:

*   Expansion of land available for urban development in West
Belconnen, Mitchell, Kenny and Ginninderra.
*   Removal of Special Requirements for significant portions of
Territory Land (Namadgi National Park and the Murrumbidgee and
Molonglo River Corridors)
*   Adjustment of the Designated Areas to include land between
London Circuit and Coranderrk Street on the northern side of
Constitution Avenue (with the exception of Block 14 Section 65 City
being the National Convention Centre site), the Mint, the Australian
Institute of Sport, and the Defence Housing Authority’s Academy Close site.
*   Changes to land use provisions in a number of designated areas,
including those for East Block, West Block and Anzac Park East and
West.

A copy of the revised National Capital Plan and the Consultation
Report is available on the National Capital Authority’s website at
www.nationalcapital.gov.au


Thank you for your interest in changes to the National Capital Plan.

For further advice regarding the above, please contact Rebecca
Sorensen on 02 6271 2851 or email
[email protected]

May 13, 2016 in Community, Government, Information, News, Notices, Planning Comments (0)

May public meeting of the BCC – Minister Fitzharris and Transport Canberra

Minister Meegan Fitzharris will be at the May meeting of the BCC. She will be speaking about Transport Canberra. The new head of Transport Canberra, Emma Thomas, will also attend.

We will also hear from the Retired ACT Transport Employees Club about preserving Canberra’s transport heritage and the role their members have played moving us all around Canberra since the capital was established.

We invite all members of the public to attend our May public meeting on: Tuesday 17 May at 7PM at the Community Room above the Belconnen Library.

A brief agenda is as follows:

7.00PM – Meeting opens – Apologies, Chairs report

7.10PM – Retired ACT Transport Employees Club

7.40PM – Minister Meegan Fitzharris and Emma Thomas

9.00PM – Meeting closes

Further information can be found on our Facebook page and website: www.belcouncil.org.au

May 11, 2016 in Community, Government, Meetings, News, News and Events, Notices Comments (0)

Belconnen retains its 4000 strong workforce at Immigration

belco immigration

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection today announced that the 4000 Immigration employees working in the Town Centre will remain in Belconnen. Office accommodation arrangements have now been finalised, and although its Civic workforce will be relocating to the Airport, its Belconnen employees will remain in the Town Centre.

Some will relocate to the underutilised ABS Building on Benjamin Way, across the road from their main Belconnen building.

This is a tremendous result that the BCC, under former Chair Tara Cheyne, worked hard to achieve, with strong bipartisan political efforts at local and federal levels.

Todays announcement provides certainty to the workers and their families that faced enormous dislocation, and to the many small businesses that relied on the 4000 workers. The department employs around one third of the full time workforce located in the Town Centre and remains Belconnens largest employer.

This decision was almost certain following last years decision by the Finance Department to take local factors into consideration when contemplating relocation of departments.

The decision was advised to all staff via an email on 5 May 2016:

Belconnen retains its Immigration workforce

Belconnen retains its Immigration workforce

The media covered the decision here and here.

Senator Zed Seselja commented on the decision by saying:

“Along with the Belconnen community I fought to ensure the [department] remained in its current location with the same staffing footprint, and I’m pleased that we won that fight,”

“Our government is the first ever to take into consideration local impacts on Canberra before making a decision regarding departmental accommodation and today’s announcement shows just how important this was.

“We now have certainty for businesses and staff located at the Belconnen town centre.

“We all know that the presence of government departments in our town centres is critical to maintaining the viability of many local small businesses. This is how Canberra was designed and we need to protect that.

“A move of the DIBP from Belconnen town centre would not have been in the best interest of the Belconnen community. It was vital to ensure this did not happen.

May 5, 2016 in Community, Government, Media Reports, News Comments (1)

NCA Amendments allow development in West Belconnen and CSIRO Ginninderra Field Site

The National Capital Authority today announced amendments to the National Capital Plan, permitting residential development at the large CSIRO Ginninderra Field site alongside the Barton Highway. The amendments also permit the Riverview development in West Belconnen to proceed.

The BCC continue to consult with both the CSIRO and Riverview to bring about good planning outcomes for existing and future Belconnen residents.

We are mindful of local concerns around loss of open space. The large volume of residents moving in over the coming decades also warrant revisiting the light rail master plan to look at whether light rail along the Barton Highway is feasible.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr responded to the announcement by the NCA by saying:

“The approval of the amendment will now allow the ACT Government, in a joint venture with the Riverview Group, to proceed with development in West Belconnen that will extend into NSW and include up to 11,500 dwellings, of which 6,500 will be in the ACT,” Andrew said.

“Planning and consultation on this development has been underway since 2007 – which has involved environmental studies and discussions with the community on the proposed development. The development is an important part of the ACT Government’s land release program and it will include a number of key planning elements that are required for a new development such as shops, bus stops, community facilities and schools.

“While the ACT Government is supportive of further housing development in the Tuggeranong area, we remain deeply concerned about any proposed expansion across the Murrumbidgee River.

“The ACT Government is unable to support this proposal as it would require significant infrastructure expenditure to facilitate housing development in the area. There are also major environmental concerns with any development that would require crossing the river.

“The ACT Government is currently in consultation with the Tuggeranong community on the possibility of a significantly more modest development in West Tuggeranong which wouldn’t require crossing the river. There is some demand for new property in Tuggeranong, but new developments must be prepared in consultation with the community and must also consider the environmental impacts on the river corridor.

“The Government is also concerned to see that land at Ginninderra Farm, currently owned by the CSIRO, has been zoned in the National Capital Plan as Urban Development. We would have preferred it to be designated future urban development – to enable more consultation with the community. The Government is concerned about the lack of community consultation and environmental planning on the proposed development with a potential for up to 6,500 dwellings at this site.

“The ACT Government will continue to press for the remaining processes for Ginninderra Farm to be undertaken within the ACT Government controlled framework and in a manner consistent with all our normal land release processes.

“We would also like to have a fresh discussion with the Commonwealth about a truly meaningful simplification and clarification of the planning system in Canberra.”

The media covered the announcement here and here.

May 5, 2016 in Community, Government, News, Planning Comments (0)