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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 3 Hansard (7 March) . . Page.. 780 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

This motion is about an issue of process which I do not think has been handled well by the government. In recent weeks, the government advertised for sale by auction block 3 section 31 Latham, with the auction to occur on 22 March. Block 3 is a relatively small block on Wanliss Street on the corner of the Latham shopping centre. I am not arguing that this land should not be developed, but I am questioning the timing and nature of the development.

Members will be aware that for three years there has been debate over the future of the Latham shops, with the owner of the shops believing that the shops were no longer viable and seeking to redevelop the site primarily into townhouses, with very small provision for retail space. Many residents in the area, however, still want to retain shops in this location and they are also concerned about the density of the redevelopment, the loss of off-street public parking and the incorporation of public open space around the edge of the shops into the redevelopment.

I do not intend to debate the merits of this proposal, but I note that a development application for the redevelopment of the shops was lodged at the end of last year for 19 townhouses and one convenience store. I understand that there were some 60 objections lodged and that an appeal against the application is likely to go to the AAT. There is therefore no guarantee that this development will be approved in its current form. There is still some way to go before we will see building work on this block.

Nevertheless, the government is now proceeding to sell the adjacent block and has specified that it must be used for 3 two-storey townhouses. It is quite clear from the sale documentation that development on this block is meant to integrate with the proposed townhouse development on the adjacent Latham shops land. It has even specified where the courtyard walls of the three new dwellings will go, which line up with the proposed courtyard walls for the new townhouses on the Latham shop land.

It is quite clear that the government is just assuming that the redevelopment of the Latham shops will be approved, which makes a mockery of the objection and appeal process. If this block is sold at auction but the redevelopment proposal for the adjacent shops is knocked back or modified, the government could be placed in the difficult situation of having sold this block for a development that is no longer integrated with the rest of the section.

In the past, local residents have called for the development of a master plan for the Latham shops covering all blocks on section 31 as there is another block on the other corner, an old service station, which could also be redeveloped. PALM has resisted the development of a master plan for this area, but it seems that we now have a de facto master plan based around the developer's proposal for the shops site. This makes a mockery of the concept of master plans, which are supposed to be driven by broad planning considerations and not by what any one developer may want. It also, might I add, makes a mockery of any claims from this government that it is interested in social capital.

Surely, it would be more sensible to wait until the nature of the redevelopment of the adjacent Latham shops, the major block in this section, is resolved before selling off this land. It would be much easier then to ensure that development on this block is integrated

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