Growing pains are affecting the communities at Canberra's two extremes - Gungahlin is growing at a mighty pace and Tuggeranong has stopped growing and gone backwards.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Tuggeranong, Canberra's original Nappy Valley, was the only major area in the ACT to experience a population drop in the latest census, sparking concerns for the future of local services.
But at least one community leader believes Tuggeranong still has a bright future with a masterplan designed to entice more people into the town centre.
While every other significant statistical district for the ACT recorded a population increase between the 2006 and 2011 census, Tuggeranong had a fall of 219 residents to 86,900.
The valley is also greying with the number of people aged 65 and over increasing dramatically while those aged between 25 and 54 is falling.
Tuggeranong Community Council president Darryl Johnston said the trends were a concern because governments used the census data in their planning. ''Our growth is basically stagnant,'' he said. ''If we're not growing, what incentive is there for government to spend up big in Tuggeranong?
''It also has an impact on the economy because if there are fewer people, they are spending less money and that has an impact on local businesses.''
Chief Minister Katy Gallagher said the census data was important, but the government's planning for areas such as Tuggeranong was affected by a range of factors.
''The census is only one of those factors and it's not given any more weight than anything else,'' she said.
People in Tuggeranong aged 55 and over increased by 29 per cent, from 13,506 in 2006 to 17,418 in 2011. At the same time, the number of people aged between 25 and 54 in Tuggeranong fell by 4 per cent from 39,845 in 2006 to 38,182 in 2011.
Communities@Work manager of events and external relations Jill Faulkner, who facilitates Business Tuggeranong, said if the government's masterplan for Tuggeranong went ahead it should lead to a turnaround in the population with medium-density and high-rise living slated for the town centre.
''I think Tuggeranong has a very promising future,'' she said.
While Tuggeranong represented the new frontier of growth in the 1970s, the focus of the national capital's expansion has moved north.
Gungahlin's population increased by an incredible 49 per cent over the five years, from 31,656 to 47,303 people, according to the 2011 census.
Gungahlin Community Council president Ewan Brown said the problem in the burgeoning new suburbs was ensuring community infrastructure kept pace with the growth in residences.
''Lots of development is taking too long. It's taking three or four years before we see some results,'' he said.
Mr Brown said the council's priority remained enticing federal and ACT departments to Gungahlin to ensure there were local jobs, but there was also a need for entertainment facilities, including a cinema.
Ms Gallagher said she understood people in new suburbs felt frustrated when all services were not in place immediately but in Gungahlin there had been ''substantial infrastructure'' over the last five to 10 years including the new library, college and roadworks and a new aquatic centre still to come.
The 2011 census revealed other areas of Canberra were also continuing to grow. Belconnen increased by 8062 residents to 92,444. North Canberra gained an extra 5917 residents to expand to 48,030.
Woden had a slight increase in population of 966 residents to sit at 32,958. Weston Creek went to 22,746, an increase of 619 residents. South Canberra had a modest rise of 486 residents, to 24,154.
