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Release of major sites
to be announced
By BRUCE BRAMMALL
An announcement to
be made today by the
Minister for the In
terior, Mr Hunt, on the
"release of major
business sites" in the
city centre is being
mentioned in Govern
ment circles as Mr
Hunt's rnpst important
on Canberra develop
ment since he took
office in February.
The usual blackout has
been placed on advance
information, but recent
official publications and
other gleanings suggest
that the land to be freed
will be in the south-eastern
part of the city's core.
■ In its most recent plan
ning publication on the
city, 'Canberra City Centre
Development 1970-1980',
the National Capital De
velopment Commission
speaks of "comprehensive
development packages".
- Its "development
sequence" shows the south
east as having priority,
ipost of it being developed
between 1971 and 1975,
and the most significant
"development packages"
in the area are listed thus:
South-east area commcr
' cial development with
an integrated high-level
. pedestrian system con
. necting to Ainslie
; Avenue; development
' and London Circuit
parking structure decks.
none Help
Parking structures and
their vehicular access,
landscape development
within London Circuit
and City Hill with inter
• connecting pedestrian
ways and. links above
and/or below London
Circuit into core area,
south-east development
and other inner-frame
developments. Planned
and possible extensions
to Civic Square and Law
Courts complexes should
also be integrated in
this package.
This information, com
bined with evidence in
land-use and development
maps in the same publica
tion, indicate that the land
to be released for develop
ment will be in the Elec
tricity House area, prob
ably within the block
bounded by London Cir
cuit and Akuna, Allara
and Nangara Streets — the
shaded area in the map.
Pedestrian
system
The maps also suggest
that the development will
be to the east of Electri
city House, which would
place the sites squarely on
the large, boomerang
shaped parking area which
now runs north-east and
south-east beside the
building.
Hints dropped yester
day that aspects of the de
velopment would be new
to Canberra also point to
the "high-level pedestrian
system" and perhaps even
the "London Circuit park
ing structure decks" as
possibilities for the imme
diate future.
The most recent release
of land for development in
the city was in March,
when the Sydney-based
construction and develop
ment group, Mainline
Corporation Ltd, paid
$1.35 million for a site
just east of Electricity
House.
•Site preparation is in
progress and a twin-tower
building is to be built
there within three years.
It is highly probable
that the release of two
major sites will be
announced today. Each,
according to informed
estimates, could bring
twice the March figure, or
even more.
to avoid meters
The National Capital
Development Commis
sion hoped it would not
have to introduce park
ing meters to Canberra
City, one of its most
senior officials said yes
terday.
"There must be a better
way to do it [ration kerb
side parking space]", he
said.
However, there was no
guarantee that they would
not have to.be used in a
limited way.
"Most of the kerb-side
space is used for loading
zones and permit parking,
which doesn't need meters,
and we might be able to
find some way [to avoid
using them]", he said.
A lot of work still re
mained to be done on all
aspects of parking before
the point of decision • on
meters-was reached.
The NCDC's hope to
avoid the meters' spread
did not indicate a hope to
avoid the spread of paid
parking.
"Space is coming to be
at . a premium and it is
necessary to ration it more
effectively", he said.
He expected the ap
proach to the raising of
parking charges and the
use of the revenue de
rived from them to be
similar to that in other
cities, except that in Can
berra the funds would
probably go to the Com
monwealth and "come out
another hole in the
bucket".
The approach used in
Adelaide was the most
likely one for Canberra:
paid parking space, partly
privately operated ;and
partly operated by the
Government.
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