Federal territories minister Nola Marino has signed off on the contentious planning amendment, which will pave the way for embassies to be built in the inner-south precinct.

The National Capital Authority says the Curtin site will provide enough land to meet demand for new embassies for at least the next 25 years, ensuring Australia can meet its international obligation to accommodate foreign missions.

The future of the horse paddocks has been at the centre of intense community and political debate since late March, when the authority secured the land in a deal which saw the ACT government handed part of Lake Burley Griffin's west basin.

Community concerns about the destruction of the paddocks coalesced during public consultation on the rezoning, with almost 80 per cent of 127 submissions stating their opposition to the changes.

That was in addition to the 1226 people who signed an online petition calling for precinct to be "saved" from development.

Concern about the loss of green space was cited by almost 90 per cent of opponents. The paddocks were valued not just as a place for horse riding, but for walking and bird watching as well.

Horse owners used the consultation process to again to decry the looming loss of the paddocks. Several owners said they lived or worked close to the Curtin paddocks, and having to move their horses to a new location would have a "significant impact".

The horses will be able to remain at the paddocks until at least 2022.

According to a summary of feedback published online, some opponents raised doubts about the supposed demand for embassy land.

They observed that if the demand wasn't there, local residents and the wider Canberra community would be "forgoing a valuable piece of environmentally significant land".

Opponents also hit out at the handling of the land deal and consultation on the rezoning, which some dismissed as a token attempt to engage with the community.

There was criticism the land deal was negotiated "behind closed doors", with the agreement stitched up at a time when Canberrans were occupied with the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Submitters indicated the process has put some Curtin residents in an adversarial frame of mind and reduced faith in government to act in the community's interest," it said.

The National Capital Authority responded to each of the criticisms in the report.

It said it was "sensitive" to the concerns about the loss of the paddocks, but argued Curtin and Canberra more broadly would still have significant areas of green open space.

The Canberra Liberals turned the horse paddocks into an ACT election issue, vowing to "unpick the dodgy deal" and shield the precinct from development if they won this month's vote. The Liberals claimed to have held talks with their federal colleagues about the plan, but never divulged the nature of those discussions.

Ms Marino approved the rezoning just two days after the Saturday election, suggesting the process was all but finalised by the time the ballots closed on October 17.

Chief Minister and Labor leader Andrew Barr had dismissed the Liberals' stance as a "political stunt", as he maintained the ACT was powerless to stop the Commonwealth snapping up territory land for its own purposes.

The federal budget, handed down earlier this month, allocated $600,000 toward planning work for the new diplomatic estate.

A National Capital Authority spokeswoman said the next stage in the project was an environmental survey of the site, which was expected to start later this year.

Once that was complete, the spokeswoman said the authority would start work on a master plan for the estate, which would set out block sizes, infrastructure requirements and the location of open space.

"The NCA hopes that community interest in development of the North Curtin area remains strong through the future stages of planning and development process," the spokeswoman said.

"As the NCA undertakes further work and studies on this site it will ensure that the community continues to have opportunity for input."