The government-appointed ACT Heritage Council called yesterday for a halt to townhouse development in Old Red Hill until after a report by National Trust president Professor Ken Taylor can be considered.
The chair of the council, Eric Martin, met residents this week. He said he would recommend the delay to the Minister for Environment, Land and Planning, Bill Wood, and the Assembly’s Planning, Development and Infrastructure Committee.
A spokesman for the Minister said Mr Wood would met Mr Martin next week.
Government sources suggest the delay will be agreed to, because planners would not want egg on their face if Professor Taylor’s came down against the development.
Old Red Hill Preservation Group members, Ernie Digweed and Ann Howarth said, “”Residents are more determined now to stop the Kingstonisation of Old Red Hill.”
A proposal for up to 14 units on a site in Wickham Crescent has been put by Scott Brothers.
The residents say that once one block goes, the whole area will fall to townhouses and destroy a heritage area of great historical significance. The large single-residence blocks had been designed by Burley Griffin and many leading political figures had lived there, they said.
Chris Scott said yesterday that the delay was causing frustration and delay.
“”The Territory Plan was supposed to have provided certainty,” he said. “” Yet as soon as the politicians and bureaucracy get a hard decision, they sit on their hands. We have been gearing up for this project, allowing other work to slip by. We want a decision so we can go ahead or get on with something else. The guidelines for Red Hill have been out and commented on for six months. We are sick of the delay.”
He would be meeting the new chair of the PDI committee, Wayne Berry, next week.
Another residents group in Yarralumla has been formed to block a multi-unit development on a large block in Hunter Street, Yarralumla. Residents say the development would destroy the single-residence nature of the neighbourhood and ultimately other sites will go in a domino effect because rates will rise and people will not be able to sell to single-residence buyers in the new environments. Sales in the area would go to developers.
Earlier this week Mr Wood appointed an advisory group of architects to improve the design quality of dual and multi-unit redevelopment of single-residence sites following widespread community concern, including the formation of a 19-group Save Our City Coalition which wants to make it an election issue.
Mr Scott said his development would retain the streetscape, set-backs and general quality of the Red Hill area. His units would be a desirable place to live, he said.