It should come as no surprise to the ACT government that an appeal has been lodged over the Dickson redevelopment.
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The plan to turn the Woolworths car park into two supermarkets and 140 apartments was controversial from the start.
The fact the first proposal was comprehensively knocked back by the ACT Planning and Land Authority last year showed the proponents' ideas were not up to scratch.
It was an unexpected move by the authority given that most developments of this nature are green lighted.
But it sent a clear message at the time that Coles and Doma needed to make serious improvements on their plans before the government would consider approving them.
The site is a critical one for the town centre and especially so when considering other Dickson localities are also set to be redeveloped in the future.
The ACT government needs to find the right balance between infill development and livability in the bush capital.
It is therefore logical the community was upset when ACTPLA approved revised plans of a development critics considered to be "clinical, a monolithic lump" and "alienating".
The string of conditions the approval was subject to showed the government was not 100 per cent happy with the project in its current form, but had enough confidence in the outcome to accept it.
The government has argued that it found the right balance between the competing interests of residents and that there was no perfect outcome.
That may be so but it now appears a fight is on the cards following the move by Dickson Woolworths' landlord to file an application for a review of the decision.
Residents groups have understandably got on board with the appeal and now wait for a directions date in September at the ACT Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
The government did themselves no favours by pulling out of a meeting recently with Dickson residents to discuss the plans, claiming it would be "inappropriate" until it was known whether or not there would be an appeal.
It is appropriate that an appeal examine the decision with more scrutiny, if only to allay the fears of the community about ACTPLA's reasons for it.
