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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 5 Hansard (8 May) . . Page.. 1843 ..

As at 30 April 2003, approximately 90% (or $270,000), of the $300,000 had been spent and the remainder has been committed for the current year.

Woden Town Centre

(Question No 653)

Mr Smyth

In relation to the Draft Woden Town Centre Master Plan:

Why was the Plan released on 10 April 2003 rather than before Christmas 2002 as was promised to the relevant stakeholders.

When do you anticipate that the final Master Plan will be ready.

What factors caused the delay of the draft Master Plan for four months.

How much has it cost to prepare the draft Plan.

How much will the final Plan cost to prepare and will there be any increase in costs due to the delay in releasing the draft.

Mr Corbell: The answer to the member's questions is as follows:

The Draft Woden Town Centre Master Plan was completed prior to Christmas 2002 but was not released by the Government because of concerns that are often expressed by the community about commenting on public documents over Christmas and some further input provided to Government from Stakeholders about the framework for response of the Draft Plan. The program was revised to release the Draft Plan in early 2003. Release of the Draft was then rescheduled to 10 April 2003 taking account the immediate focus on bushfire recovery for many in the community and government.

PALM is working through the Draft Plan with stakeholders over a series of weekly meetings. Important issues like the future of the bus interchange still need detailed resolution but the Government hopes to release a final plan by the end of the year.

As previously described in (1) above the Government did not release the Draft Plan in December 2002 recognising the concerns that are often expressed by the community about commenting on public documents over Christmas.

To date, the total cost of preparing the Draft Plan is $146,000. This consists of:

Production and distribution of Newsletter #1 $6,500

Production and distribution of Newsletter #2 $7,500

Traffic engineering, bus options and urban design consultancy $113,000

Graphic design $10,000

Report preparation and printing $9,000

Total cost excluding PALM salaries $146,000

Preparation of the final Plan will involve printing and distribution costs of about $10,000. The April launch of the Draft Plan did not involve any additional costs.

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