Construction is about to begin on the new Belconnen suburb of Lawson after years of delays due to the presence of the golden sun moth and native grassland.
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About 1850 dwellings will be released as part of the suburb as it is completed during the next five years.
The 100-hectare site is bordered by Ginninderra and Baldwin drives and Commonwealth land formerly the site of the Belconnen Naval Transmitting Station.
Work will start this month on the suburb.
The ACT government has announced that the first release of 124 single residential blocks will take place before the end of the year and will be sold through an auction process.
The first stage of the suburb will also include the release of a further 12 multi-unit sites bringing the total to 560 dwellings.
While the first blocks from the Belconnen suburb were originally anticipated for release in the 2010-11 financial year, the presence of the golden sun moth delayed the plans.
Deputy Chief Minister Andrew Barr said it had been necessary to prepare a referral under Commonwealth government legislation for the impact on the moth habitat and the natural temperate grassland at Lawson. He said the whole process, up to approval, had taken 2 years.
‘‘This process required additional surveys of the site, at the appropriate time of the year, and the development of an offset strategy,’’ Mr Barr said.
He said the development application had been lodged by the Land Development Agency in December last year following the approval.
Mr Barr said Lawson was an ideal infill housing site because of its close proximity to the Belconnen town centre and the University of Canberra.
‘‘It forms part of the ACT government’s agenda to ensure there’s a balance of development types within the city, that we aren’t just providing new greenfield estates on the urban fringes,’’ he said.
The ACT government recently declared the end of the urban sprawl for Gungahlin when the federal government gave approval to plans to build the remaining suburbs.
A major development in West Belconnen will also provide 4500 dwellings, which are set to be built right up to the ACT-NSW border.
About half of Lawson will be set aside for public open space, including Reservoir Hill, Lake Ginninderra foreshore and the College Creek corridor.
There are also about 120 eastern grey kangaroos on site that will have their grazing areas retained.
The adjoining Defence land was the site of the 2008 kangaroo culls, which gained international attention.
There could also be more residential development on this 143-hectare site in future.
The National Capital Authority approved a development control plan for the site in February, which paves the way for some residential development as well as conservation zones.
Work on the suburb includes the remediation of asbestos associated with the reservoirs previously on top of Reservoir Hill and illegally dumped building waste.
It will also include the relocation and underground placement of the 11-kilovolt power lines that cross the site, earthworks and roads and infrastructure construction.
The Land Development Agency has sent letters to residents in the area to alert them to these works.
Mr Barr said the government had worked through the federal government’s environmental processes to resolve any contamination issues.
The Land Development Agency estimates the prices of dwellings in Lawson will be similar to the Gungahlin suburb of Crace.
About 20 per cent of homes will be priced according to the ACT government’s affordable housing criteria.
