The head of the National Capital Authority has labelled the new Westside Container Village a "damp squib" and revealed the authority raised its concerns about the West Basin development with the ACT government.
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Chief executive Malcolm Snow said the authority was concerned about the "lack of activity" at the village, under questioning in Senate estimates on Thursday by Western Australia Labor Senator Glenn Sterle, who said the development looked "like the beginnings of a detention centre".
"When you go up Northbourne Avenue, what is that collection of containers on the left, what the hell is that? It looks like a driving range for a golf course," Senator Sterle said.
Mr Snow said he, too, was confused by what was going on at the park.
"We have raised concerns about the lack of activity, and Mr Smith [chief planner Andrew Smith] has raised those concerns with the LDA because quite frankly we think it is a bit of a damp squib at the moment," he said on Thursday, his comments coming a day before he joined ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr near the site for an announcement on the first stage of the City to the Lake project.
Senator Sterle then further sledged the troubled development.
"It looks like the beginnings of a detention centre," he said.
Asked for a response, Mr Barr said, "This view clearly isn't shared by the more than 25,000 people who've already attended events like Art not Apart and the National Capital Rally at Westside - or the couple who've chosen it as their wedding venue."
The Westside Container Village, designed to bring life and a Braddon street feel to the lakefront, was commissioned by the ACT government last year but has been beset by delays, cost overruns and disputes over payment of contractors. It was to have been open for Floriade last year, but work is only now being completed on site.
The development is costing the ACT government about $1 million, with the developer Stromlo Stomping Grounds also putting its own money into the project, the amount not disclosed.
Payment disputes
In May, subcontractors and suppliers began complaining about not being paid, and being offered lesser amounts as settlements of their bills.Two suppliers, one of forklifts, the other of steel, told The Canberra Times they were owed money and had been unable to get hold of the builder Duellery when they were trying to have invoices paid. After Canberra Times queries, both were paid in full.
Another subcontractor said he had accepted a reduced payment.
Stromlo Stomping Village spokesman Terry Shaw said this week all of the contractors and suppliers had now been paid, except a plumber with whom the group was in dispute.
Asked what had gone wrong with payments, Mr Shaw said the problem was with the builder's paperwork, but he had since stepped in, worked out what people were owed, and paid the bills.
He was now looking forward to more activity at the site, with two bars operating, along with a coffee shop, a sandwich shop, Vietnamese street food, Middle Eastern food and a smoothie seller – which were required to be open Thursday to Sunday, but were also open other days. A temporary "hot-desking" office space would be open soon, along with retail operators, he said.
Land Development Agency deputy chief executive Dan Stewart said as the agency had become aware of allegations about non-payment, it had asked Stromlo Stomping Grounds to "immediately address each matter and to ensure that all steps were being taken to ensure that outstanding payments were made within contracted timeframes".
As of May 25, three had not been fully paid, with two of those to be paid that day, and the other in dispute.
"With the exception of terminating the contract, the LDA has no legal authority to force SSG to make payments to sub contractors where SSG maintains that the matter is in dispute," he said. "As previously stated, the LDA has determined that termination of the contract is not in the best interests of the project."
