Chief Minister Andrew Barr has ruled out a housing development on Exhibition Park in Canberra, or EPIC, claiming any suggestion was merely an "urban myth".
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EPIC is the spiritual home of Summernats and hosts events including the National Folk Festival and Royal Canberra Show and, for the first time this year, Groovin the Moo.
It was revealed earlier this year "urban renewal planning feasibility" studies were being conducted on the showground and a slab of land to the north earmarked for the new suburb of Kenny.
"The urban renewal division [is yet to determine] the vision and the type of development that will occur on the site. However, this may include mixed-use residential, commercial, and educational," the tender said.
But Mr Barr on Monday said he had no plans to develop EPIC for housing.
"I can't bind future governments to this, but from my perspective EPIC will be remaining in its current location and will not be replaced by apartments," Mr Barr said.
The Greens last week called on the government to safeguard Exhibition Park in Canberra from development.
But at ACT Estimates on Monday Mr Barr said the plan was just an "urban myth" and there was never any need for them to come out and call for it to be safeguarded.
"It was never contemplated," he said.
"The urban myth that Exhibition Park and the racecourse are suddenly going to convert to housing is just that - an urban myth."
Greens leader Shane Rattenbury welcomed Mr Barr's comments, saying it was a win for Canberra.
"We look forward to further community discussions about the future revitalisation of EPIC to ensure that EPIC remains an important cultural institution for decades to come," he said.
He had previously said EPIC should be designated as an entertainment precinct like Fortitude Valley in Brisbane.
There, the precinct has laws placing the onus on new developments to incorporate extensive noise insulation-not on music venues to turn down their volumes when residential development is built nearby
EPIC has long been speculated as a site of development, with former government minister Simon Corbell in 2014 saying it was worth considering as an activity centre for a mixture of residential and commercial development.