Canberra Times reports that Canberra's National Capital Authority has ruled out one of three sites being investigated for a diplomatic estate, after considering community feedback and a report by SGS Economics and Planning. The report 'Assessment of Three Sites for Diplomatic Use' is the result of a study investigating site suitability and costs, and a community consultation program.
SGS led a team of consultants to undertake the study that assessed the suitability of three sites to accommodate
a diplomatic estate. National Capital Authority (NCA), responsible for planning of diplomatic estates for the Australian Government, commissioned the project after it identified a shortfall in available land for diplomatic missions. NCA identified three areas to be investigated for their suitability for this purpose. These were
Land adjacent to the Federal Golf Course at Red Hill;
Land near the Old Canberra Brickworks at Yarralumla; and
Land southwest of Stirling Ridge at Yarralumla.
The study considered a wide range of issues including community feedback and input into the
deliberations. It was conducted in three phases. The first considered a range of issues for each site including environmental values, tenure, heritage value, servicing, community values and preliminary bushfire assessment. The second phase determined the developable area, a proposed layout and the implications of the layout. This included defining the development area, an indicative layout, proposed servicing and indicative costs, and impacts of the development. The final phase involved providing a summary of the implications for developing all three sites based on the outcomes of phases one and two.
read SGS's report 'Assessment of the Three Sites for Diplomatic Use'
visit NCA's consultation website page New Diplomatic Estate with links to consultation and other reports
read the Canberra Times article