The ACT government has paved the way for IKEA to move to Canberra following ministerial approval of the territory plan variation for a large block of land in Pialligo.
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The draft variation proposed to re-zone the area near the Canberra Airport from broadacre to industrial mixed use. This frees the land to be developed as a bulky goods site suspected to be the target of Swedish flat-pack furniture group IKEA.
The site is currently being used as a stockpile overburden area for workers constructing the Majura Parkway.
Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development Simon Corbell has approved the re-zoning of the land following community consultation held at the end of last year.
He said the government was ensuring the ACT provided ongoing economic and employment opportunities in the region.
Mr Corbell said the development of the land was in keeping with the Eastern Broadacre planning study and the ACT Planning Strategy "which identified the eastern side of the ACT as a potential future employment and industrial uses corridor".
A spokesman for the minister confirmed the site had not yet been sold. The variation will be tabled in the Legislative Assembly next month.
The draft variation was released for consultation at the same time as the National Capital Authority's recent draft amendment to the National Capital Plan, which sought to expand the urban area at Pialligo from broadacre to urban area. The government still needs approval from the NCA to proceed with the variation.
A report submitted by the government to the authority said it was proposed that the 7.6-hectare site be leased as a single site for the development of a large floor plate bulky goods retailing operation.
"The international proponent of this development has been unable to find a suitably located site of this size in Canberra," it said.
"The development would represent a significant economic and employment opportunity for Canberra as such facilities are normally only located in cities with a population over 500,000."
The report said the nature of the development was entirely consistent in terms of use and scale with both existing and proposed retail and commercial development in the adjoining Majura Park.
"It would form a logical extension of the existing retail/commercial hub and strengthen the major economic role of the whole airport precinct."
Eight out of 11 public submissions entered during the consultation phase of the draft variation were critical of it.
Local business Majura Valley Free Range Eggs commented that a master plan was needed for the valley and that a site for the store should be found elsewhere in Fyshwick, Hume or Mitchell.
"Creeping opportunistic ribbon development is against the interests of everyone in the Territory," they said.
The Majura Valley Landcare Group also requested an alternative site be found and expressed concern and alarm that another large development such as IKEA would move into the valley. In its submission the Canberra Airport said the proposal was in the community interest in the context of both increased retail choice from the IKEA store and higher revenue from the sale of the re-zoned land.
