A Greens minister says a temporary car park to be built by the ACT government in Weston Creek which prompted intense community opposition is a poor solution with an unnecessary impact on the environment.
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Emma Davidson, who is the Greens member for Murrumbidgee, said the car park was a poor planning solution to a short-term commercial problem, reiterating her view from the election campaign.
"[It] could be resolved in alternate ways which would have a far lower impact on the community and the local environment," Ms Davidson said.
"The ACT Greens' opposition to the temporary car park at Cooleman Court was made clear throughout the 2020 ACT election campaign, and as the ACT Greens member for Murrumbidgee, I intend to continue previous Greens MLA Caroline Le Couteur's advocacy on this issue."
A development application for the site, which is a vacant block between the Cooleman Court shopping centre and a group of townhouses, was approved last month.
Plans for the car park were scaled back following community pressure to provide space for 63 cars instead of 108.
The work has been conditionally approved, with the ACT government required to demolish the car park and restore the site within three years after it is completed.
"The condition will continue to apply unless this decision is superseded by another approval permitting permanent use of the site," the decision said.
Minister for Transport and City Services Chris Steel said the ACT government expected the site would be released for community facilities use after the car park was no longer needed.
The site was rezoned from urban open space to community facility zone in 2014 after a master plan for the area was developed. Car parks are prohibited on community facility blocks unless they are deemed to be temporary.
Transport Canberra and City Services directorate officials suggested building the temporary car park and applying to have the land use changed later to allow the development to stay more permanently, documents released under freedom of information in June revealed.
Officials within the directorate discussed land use changes in December 2019 if the car park was needed for more than two years.
"It may be that we can build a temp ([less than two-year]) carpark and not need to change the land use status or if we think it is going to be there for longer than that then we will need to seek the land use change. If we got the temp option we can then seek a land use change post the construction which may be the best option for us given we don't know the timing of the Molonglo Centre," the email said.
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John Davies, a resident of one of the townhouses which backs onto the land where the car park is to be built, said in April the ACT government was "flouting the legislation completely".
"Our line is that it's just ridiculous to cut down those 50-year-old trees and maintain you're planting another dozen in another area, you just can't do it. No reasonable person could possibly consider cutting down those mature trees, covering a park with bitumen could really be accepted as temporary," Mr Davies said.
Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
