Government ministers sought to whittle down an extensive list of sites across Canberra's suburbs that Andrew Barr said would suit infill homes a decade ago, instead preferring sites with "broad community support", newly released cabinet documents have revealed.
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Mr Barr, the now Chief Minister who was then planning minister, brought forward a list of more than 70 sites across Canberra as potential urban infill locations in March 2011, recommending the government vary the territory plan to allow housing.
The sites included open space in Ainslie on Quick Street; a block surrounding a holiday park in O'Connor; the playing fields between Brindabella Christian College and Lyneham Primary School; and an open space area in Hughes between Webster Street and Yamba Drive.
A map attached to the cabinet submission showed the sites were divided into two categories, with sites marked "Priority 1" and "Priority 2 (3-5 years)".
The submission identified 20 "Priority 1" sites, including an area along Athllon Drive; five blocks in Belconnen, including in the town centre; the Curtin horse paddocks; and three blocks in Watson.
The submission identified 37 "Priority 2" sites, across Belconnen, Gordon, Greenway, Kaleen, Monash, O'Connor, Turner, Yarralumla and other suburbs.
"All infill sites have a high-degree risk of possible neighbourhood opposition," Mr Barr's submission, which was supported by all government departments, said.
The cabinet's ministerial advisory committee decided on March 28, 2011 it did not support the sites identified for possible infill, but agreed that Mr Barr should bring forward another list in a submission that was "much smaller in number".
That list needed to focus on "group centres, transport corridors and large island sites" and "can be delivered effectively by the government, and with broad community support", it was decided.
Mr Barr's submission had argued greater urban infill would have broad benefits for Canberra.
"A more compact city has significant environmental benefits including reduced greenhouse gas emissions and the retention of arable land. The cumulative impacts will contribute to a reduction of the city's environmental footprint," Mr Barr's submission said.
The submission also noted intensified urban development better used existing services, including public transport.
"Urban intensification has potential benefits for the entire Canberra community for social, environmental and economic outcomes," the submission said.
"Benefits could include increased affordability, liveability and accessibility of neighbourhoods and viability of nearby local and group centres."
The cabinet submission sheds new light on Mr Barr's current "gentle urbanism" agenda, which he has touted as the answer to provide housing for a growing a city broadly within Canberra's existing footprint.
Mr Barr, who has been chief minister since December 2014, has most recently endorsed the need to deliver "missing middle" housing, which advocates say sits between high-rise blocks of flats and detached homes.
There would be great value in making it easier to build secondary houses in existing suburbs to increase urban density, he said in March.
"There's a way to do this that would address legitimate concerns about neighbourhoods changing dramatically, but at the same time offer more product and a house size that's 100 to 150 square metres, so equivalent to a three-bedroom apartment probably, but at a single level, in a gentle transformation of some of the larger blocks in places where people want to live," Mr Barr said at the time.
The government in July 2022 said an extra 30,000 dwelling sites would be added to Canberra over the next five years to meet housing demand in a city that has expanded faster than expected.
The ACT government's land release policy is to make 70 per cent of new dwelling sites each year available in urban infill locations with 30 per cent in greenfield developments. That split does not include a commitment to release detached housing.
A spokeswoman for the ACT government said there had been, and would continue to be, a range of outcomes on the sites identified in Mr Barr's decade-old cabinet submission.
"Work has progressed on a number of those sites and the government is currently investigating development on several of the sites. This includes the sites below, noting that several of the sites are listed on the current Indicative Land Release Program 2022-23 to 2026-27," the spokeswoman said.
Those sites include Athllon Drive, Curtin section 121 block 5, and sections 74 and 76 in Watson.
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"The draft district strategies, which were recently out for community consultation, also identify a range of proposed change areas and investigation areas that could be considered for future development. Specific sites, and opportunities for their development, are identified in the draft District Strategies," the spokeswoman said.
The draft district strategies were released by the ACT government as part of community consultation on its new planning system, which would move to an "outcomes based" model and remove strict requirements on developers.
Developers would instead be asked to show evidence their project suits the needs of the community and fits within an areas's character.
The government spokeswoman said the territory invested significant time and resources in preparing its land-release program.
"Whether greenfield or urban infill sites, a range of site investigations and planning are needed to determine whether a piece of the land is suitable for any future development. There are different needs and thresholds for different development types. For example, land suitable for industrial purposes may not be suitable for residential development," she said.
"Environmental values, contamination, geotechnical and economic issues may result in land being unsuitable for any development at all."
Cabinet documents become eligible for release in the ACT after 10 years.
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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.
