The ACT government has proposed a new park for Coombs as part of a wider plan to stem residents' frustration with development and forge connectivity in the community.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The 9379-square-metre play space, which would be located off Edgeworth Parade, has a naturalistic theme and is set into the slope of the land to maximise views of the adjacent Holdens Creek.
The development application for the project is expected to be lodged some time in the next few days but the community consultation process had so far been extensive, the suburban land agency said.
"Some of the concerns are that it will become an intrusion to [the residents'] view. If this is going to include toilet facilities, that could also be an issue," project director Kuga Kugathas said.
"Some people see the nearby water as a good thing, [while] some people say it is unsafe for children. Certainly this will be something we address in the detailed design process to make it safe."
The play space, which would be constructed late this year, would include in-ground trampolines, slides, swing sets, climbing structures, a multi-sports court, barbecues, shaded areas, and seating areas.
It would also be wheelchair accessible with some play "pods" at ground level. Of the probable 10 parking spaces, some would be for people with disabilities.
It has not been decided whether the park will include a toilet block, but if it does it would be somewhat concealed by foliage.
"This [play space] actually has all the bits in it. You've got the climbing area, you've got the trampolines, whereas in a lot of other places these are in separate playgrounds," community development manager Jody Gleeson said.
"We've tried to combine the barbecues, bubblers, and shade all in one, so that's a bit of a meeting point.
"Within a local community [in the ACT], this is probably the first of this style."
Local residents were concerned that the park was the ACT government's attempt to compensate for a lack of community development and amenities in the Coombs and Wright area, they said.
"A number of residents along the street and in the area are quite upset by what we perceive to be a lack of consultation in relation to what was is quite an overdevelopment of what was meant to be just a local playground area," Peta Langeveld, who lives across the road from the proposed park, said.
"We paid a premium to build here and enjoy a particular view and that’s going to be taken away from us by the development of, particularly, the [proposed] toilet block."
Despite the toilet block appearing in designs to be set back in the far-right corner of the play space, it would only be a matter of metres from homes, Mrs Langeveld said.
The ACT Suburban Land Agency said community consultation about the project would be ongoing following the lodgement of the development application.
Three developments proposed for the Molonglo Valley have been knocked back in less than a month, and the Coombs shops, which were bought by Canberra developer Renato Cervo in 2015 and built in 2018, remain inactive.
An Indian grocer was due to begin operating there within the next month, the building's real estate agent said, but other interested parties had fallen through. Mr Cervo has until April to achieve a certificate of occupancy for the largest of the shops, made for a supermarket, before the project is deemed non-compliant by the ACT government.
"But achieving that means he's complied with everything from the government. We can't then regulate or put controls on whether he gets a tenant or not. That's a commercial decision for him," Ms Gleeson said.
On Thursday afternoon, rent for the Coombs shops was listed on two real-estate websites at $650 a square metre. After the agent was questioned about this, the listings were removed and replaced.
The agent said price point had been a problem but leases had been revised down to about $500 a square metre some 18 months ago. Mr Cervo refused to comment about the development's progress.
Despite the lack of activity, the government was hopeful for the future of Wright and Coombs, with the proposed Koko Molonglo development under review and other community projects being started.
"We definitely haven't gone outside of any guidelines so we’re anticipating approval," Koko Molonglo's agent Storm Brearly said.
A four-week trial for a pop-up cafe at Stromlo House has so far been a huge success, with about 200 people attending each week. The cafe was expected to continue, with the land agency's facilitation, going ahead.
"The pop-up cafe is a massive hit. I think it's a really good initiative and illustrates the fact that there is definitely demand for people to have a place to get a coffee, something to eat, and bump into your neighbours," Save Molonglo administrator Ryan Hemsley said.
"[Stromlo] is sort of south-east of the Coombs shops. [The shops] would have been an ideal place but obviously there are some challenges with putting [a pop-up cafe] there."
The Coombs play space is being designed by Redbox Design Group. The final details of what it would look like and what amenities it would include will be determined following the lodgement of a development application.
