The people of Old Red Hill have a difficult public-relations job. There are 73 residences in an area bounded by Mugga Way, Morseby Street, Arthur Circle, Monaro Crescent and Flinders Way. The blocks are huge, the houses large though some are run down, and the trees are splendid.
It is gracious living from another age.
That, however, is its heritage value. It was designed like that by Walter Burley Griffin and now attracts tourist buses. The people who lived there helped found the nation.
The area is like an endangered species of dwelling-scape. There is nothing quite like it anywhere: easy to kill off; impossible to recreate. But jealousy makes public sympathy scarce.
The residents say the ambience and heritage value of the area will be destroyed by Peter Blackshaw’s proposed development on a 10,000 sq metre site at Wickham Crescent. He wants to demolish the existing house and replace it with between 12 and 14 units with common pool and tennis courts. The Territory Plan, as it stands will allow the development subject to it meeting as yet unfinalised development guidelines.
Mr Blackshaw says his townhouses will be quality dwellings where people will want to live and that there are very limited opportunities for redevelopment so they area will not be “”Kingstonised”.
The residents argue that when the Territory Plan was being drawn up, the large blocks on Red Hill were not really considered. They say that because the blocks are so large only has to fall to allow 12 to 14 townhouses and then more will follow.
A member of the Old Red Hill Preservtion Society, Ann Howarth says they want all thought of townhouses stopped until the Australian Heritage Commission has determined their nomination of Old Red Hill for entry on the register of the national estate; the ACT Heritage Council has finalised its citation for the Interim Places Register; and Professor Ken Taylor has conducted his study of the area for the National Trust and the University of Canberra.
Heritage aside, another member of the group, Rik Allen, says the townhouses cannot be justified on the ground of infrastructure savings because the area is old and designed for only a few dwellings. The stormwater drainage is non-existent in some places. It would all have to be renewed to take the extra run-off.
Ann Howarth said the appeal mechanism was not an argument for saying the plan is working. Appeals would be useless once the guidelines are in.
The president of the Canberra Conservation Council, Jacqui Rees, said, “”People on big blocks were entitled to protection from the greed of developers as much as people on small blocks.”
The residents say the planners and the government-appointed ACT Heritage Council have concentrated on streetscape and hedges without concern about the impact of extra dwellings and cars.
Mr Blackshaw, however, says that not all residents in the area are against his development. Some more elderly people are finding their gardens too much to handle, but want to stay in the area. His townhouse development is attractive to them.
Some have expressed interest but none has put a deposit down. Six out-of-area people have.
He argues the rule will prevent the Kingstonisation of Red Hill. The plot ratio in Kingston is 1.6; in Red Hill it is 0.35. The Wickham Cres block is 10,000 sq metres. This means 3500 sq metres of living floor space (over two storeys) can be built. In Kingston it would be 16,000 sq metres (over three storeys) of floor space on the 10,000 sq metres of land.
“”These are not cheap and nasty units,” he said this week. “”They will cost more than $500,000 each. People walking past will say: I want to live there.”
Set-back rules will prevent redevelopment of all but a few of the 73 blocks. The present rules require a set back from the front of 20 metres and six metres from the side.
“”So to get any meaningful economic redevelopment you need at least 1.5 acres,” he said. “”That leaves on 12 blocks in Old Red Hill and once you take out a couple of embassies and people would would not sell, there will not be much redevelopment in the area.”
Tax changes would also slow redevelopment. Betterment tax used to be charged on the difference between what the developer paid and what the new value would be after the lease change. In the Wickham Crescent case this might be the difference between $2 million and $3 million, meaning $1 million in tax. Under the new rules betterment tax is charged on the difference between the unimproved (rating) value as a residence and the new value. In the Wickham Crescent case that might be the difference between $1 million and $3 million, meaning $2 million in tax.
He thought that unless the tax arrangement were changed, the Wickham Crescent development (to which the old rules applied) might be the only Old Red Hill redevelopment for a decade.
In any event, he says that the lifestyle of existing residents would not be affected. With a 20 metre set-back, plus 12 metres of road verge and six metres fromt he side boundard and the fact the neighbours house was in the middle of a 1.5 acre block, “”you would need a high rise to affect their lifestyle.”