01 April 2024
On 27 March 2024 the YRA was advised by the National Capital Authority that the National Capital Plan Amendment No. 97 – Block 7 Section 4 Yarralumla (former Australian Forestry School) had been approved by the Commonwealth Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories (The Hon Kristy McBain) and registered on 20 March 2024.
This link Amendment 97 - Block 7 Section 4 Yarralumla | National Capital Authority (nca.gov.au) will take you to the:
- Registered Amendment
- Consultation Report which includes the YRA’s submission (lodged in December 2023), those of several other Yarralumla residents and other organisations
- NCA’s response to the issues raised
Amendment 97 changes the land use policy from Community Facility to “Mixed Use” zoning allowing for residential, social housing, aged care, commercial accommodation, community facility and ancillary commercial uses. Amendment 97 includes some specific conditions on planning and design to guide future development of the site:
- Up to 300 dwellings, up to 3 stories plus an attic
- 60 % of the site is to be retained as open space (with 45% of that set aside for deep root plantings)
- Heritage structures will be retained and adaptively reused
- Most new buildings will be located on the footprints of existing or recently demolished buildings
- Environmental standards will require high levels of solar access and cross ventilation
- New buildings need to sit in the landscape according to its topography within the tree line
- The NCA has planning, heritage, and overall responsibility for the site
Note that Forestry Oval (Block 4 Section 4 Yarralumla) does not form part of the area covered by this Amendment, however Wilf Crane Crescent, which provides access to the Oval, is a private road within the area (Block 7 Section 4 Yarralumla) covered by the Amendment.
The YRA raised the following 5 issues in our submission and the NCA has addressed point 3 but the other concerns remain:
- The scale and impact of the traffic generation from the Forestry Place Development on Yarralumla has been substantially underestimated.
- The Traffic Assessment has not provided a sound basis and is fundamentally flawed.
- The permitted uses and controls were ambiguous and contains errors.
- Future access to the oval is via a private road.
- There is no provision for the Long-term management, maintenance and funding for protection of heritage values of the site as a whole after completion.
The changes included from YRA input are that greater detail has been included on Figure 115 to more clearly define the developable area and offsets. Also the definition of “Attic” now aligns with the Territory Plan. These changes are important as it is likely that the site may be sold to a Development Company.
