Six-storey apartment buildings would be encouraged in the heart of Kippax under the ACT government's plan to transform the area into a major hub for Canberra's growing western region.
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The Kippax group centre masterplan, released on Monday, sets out a vision to reshape the Belconnen precinct with high-density developments and revitalised public spaces and community facilities.
The centre services residents in Holt, Higgins, Latham and Macgregor, but is set to became a focal point for the wider region as the planned 11,500-home Ginniderry estate takes shape in the coming decades.
As reported in The Canberra Times on Monday, the plan will allow Kippax Fair shopping centre to expand across up to 16,000 square metres of the adjacent Holt playing fields - the equivalent size of more than two rugby league fields.
The decision has sparked an angry response from the Belconnnen Community Council, which said the government's planned $2.2 million upgrade of nearby Higgins Oval would not be enough to account for the loss of open space.
The masterplan said Kippax's proximity to Southern Cross Drive made it a prime location for renewal as a transport-orientated apartment and shopping hub.
The government has released a draft territory plan variation alongside the masterplan, which proposes to raise building heights across the precinct. A new road linking Moyes Crescent and Hardwick Crescent has also been recommended.
Six-storey apartments would be permitted on land at the northern end of Hardwick Crescent, and on the western edge of Kippax Fair.
A five-storey limit has been slated for an existing carpark site next to the shopping centre. Buildings of up to three storey would be allowed on the eastern flank of an expanded Kippax Fair, under the proposal.
Planning Minister Mick Gentleman said encouraging development in established areas such as Kippax would shield Canberra's "garden suburbs" from high-density housing.
The masterplan recommends building a new community centre south of Kippax Library, with an existing centre in line for demolition as part of the shopping centre upgrade. The new building would help form part of a revitalised community plaza.
The skate ramp behind Kippax Fair would be relocated to the southeastern end of Holt playing fields - if the upgrade goes ahead.
The plan noted that Kippax's public spaces "lacked general appeal and vibrancy as destinations". The precinct did not have an "overall branding", which was "exacerbated by low building heights, lack of outdoor meeting spaces and ... distinctive entry and arrival markers", it stated.
In response, it recommended upgrades to footpaths and bikeways, along with the planting of new trees. A "pocket park" linking Hardwick Crescent and Starke Street is also in the pipeline.
The final plan is the product of four rounds of consultation over the past five years.
The government's original proposal in 2015 suggested Kippax Fair be allowed to expand west over an adjacent carpark.
The shopping centre's owners put forward an alternative plan to shift east onto Holt playing fields, which was adopted in the final draft masterplan and backed by a community reference panel.
But it proved contentious with some residents and the Belconnen Community Council, which argued the district could not afford to lose any green space.
Belconnen Community Council chair Glen Hyde this week reacted angrily to confirmation that the shopping centre's expansion over the playing fields would be permitted under the final masterplan.
Mr Hyde said the planned upgrade of Higgins Oval would not alone make up for the loss of Holt playing fields, as he urged the government to commit to creating new green spaces in the wider Belconnen region.
