There are no signs around West Basin warning of quicksand, but some may be in order after the National Capital Authority gave the Westside Container Village its marching orders on Thursday. The ACT government, which initiated the project in 2014 to "activate" lakeside use and to herald the City to the Lake redevelopment, had wanted the container village to remain open until May 2019. However, the NCA, concerned the installation was "not of an appropriate designs standard for a long-term presence on the site", declared the structure should go by November 19 next year.
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The brief but troubled life of the container village – it suffered extensive delays and cost over-runs, was lampooned for its aesthetics, and failed to meet expected visitor numbers – echoes another development on the same site (Acton Park) back in 1996. That was the $250,000 futsal slab, which the then Carnell government claimed would be springboard for future sporting competitions in the capital as well as bringing some much-needed life to West Basin. But it too was beset by poor planning and cost blowouts – and the lack of permanent spectator stands meant it never delivered the economic benefits the government claimed it would.
Although the container village was envisaged as a joint public/private undertaking (with the Stromlo Stomping Grounds group awarded managerial control) taxpayers look like shouldering most of the costs. In August 2015, after months of delay and ongoing complaints from contractors about unpaid bills, the government took over site management from the Stromlo group. It then announced plans to improve the area's amenity and aesthetics, which tenants took as a sign of faith in the village's future.
With their request for a lease extension denied, and with only a year to recoup their investment (probably well over $1 million), the government and Westside tenants could be forgiven for feeling irritated and disappointed at the NCA's decision. Exacerbating that sentiment would be the realisation that a pop-up installation on the site really ought to have worked. Indeed, such installations have been used the world over to successfully enliven underutilised public spaces.
But if West Basin is a prime example of choice real estate little-used, it also has restricted road access, particularly for those coming from north of the Lake.
Shipping containers may also have been an unwise choice. Though cheap and versatile, their unadorned appearance polarises opinions. In a dense, urban setting their utilitarian feel can really work. Along the expanse of the lake, and in territory colours of blue and yellow – and for a while with ill-advised government signage – they looked awkward and out of place.
Labor Senator Glenn Sterle claimed in Senate estimates that the village looked like a golf driving range or the beginnings of a detention centre, and NCA chief executive Malcolm Snow worsened matters by describing it as a damp squib.
If that denouncement last year didn't seal the village's fate, this week the NCA made sure of it.
