Residents fear the rush to spend millions of dollars in economic stimulus money to build public housing in the ACT could be at the expense of good planning and proper community consultation.
However, ACT Planning and Land Authority chief planning executive Neil Savery maintains the development applications for the projects are being vigorously assessed.
The Federal Government has given the ACT $87 million under the Nation Building Economic Stimulus Plan for 350 ''social housing'' units, stipulating the first stage must be built by June 2010 and the second stage by December 2010.
The tight timetable has seen the ACT Government not allow third-party appeals to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal should ACTPLA approve the development applications for the housing.
It has also reduced the public notification of development applications for the housing from the usual 15 to 10 days.
For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times