Page 3212 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 13 November 2007
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I seek leave to move a motion authorising the report for publication.
Leave granted.
MR GENTLEMAN: I move:
That the report be authorised for publication.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
MR GENTLEMAN: I move:
That the report be noted.
The Gold Creek Homestead, first constructed in 1857, has passed through many owners’ hands and undergone many various extensions. However, at present it is in a state of serious disrepair. The building itself has not been open to the public for many years. While the committee agrees that the site does hold some heritage value, the homestead itself is in such a poor state that, instead of repairing the building, which may not be economically viable, those heritage values should be recognised in other ways.
With this in mind, it is the committee’s recommendation that the hilltop near the homestead should be retained as urban open space, preferably with seating and a plaque commemorating the heritage values of the site. This draft variation proposal requests that the land use policy change from “entertainment, accommodation and leisure” to “community facility”.
The need to increase the supply of retirement and aged care accommodation in the ACT has never been more important. According to the ACT government, figures show that by 2031 more than 100,000 men and women in the ACT will be over 55, with the greatest growth occurring in the over-70 age group. This draft variation provides an opportunity to address this issue and, as such, the committee recommends that the proposed variation to the territory plan proceed.
The committee also recommends that the ACT Planning and Land Authority require the developer to include high-quality landscaping with native vegetation of local provenance on the site, replacing the remnant exotic plant species that are not trees of significance.
In closing, I would like to thank my fellow committee members, Mary Porter and Zed Seselja, and the committee secretary, Hanna Jaireth, for their work on this inquiry. I commend the report to the Assembly.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Leave of absence
Motion (by Mr Corbell) agreed to:
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