Garran Residents' Association opposed to Federal Golf Club Territory Plan Variation for retirement living development

The club has submitted a draft Territory Plan Variation, a move towards realising its plan to sub-lease part of its green to a developer, who would build and run an 125-dwelling retirement village.

The Federal Golf Club has submitted various development proposals since 1998 in attempts to bolster its financial standing.

Contention over the retirement village has seen in-fighting erupt between different resident groups, and drawn a neighbouring club into the fray.

The Garran Residents' Association says it was not fairly consulted on the plan, and that the development lacks majority support, a precursor set out in a resolution by the Legislative Assembly in 2017.

They believe that consultation favoured a different residents' group who were more concerned about a prior iteration of the development on the northern side of the club's land.

The association has submitted an objection to the Territory Plan Variation, with concerns about the preservation of green space as well as the protection of Gang-Gang cockatoos which are known to nest on part of the club's land.

Among the Garran Residents' Association committee is Canberra Southern Cross Club chief executive Ian Mackay, though the club and residents' group both said that Mr Mackay's involvement has been as a private resident.

In 2020, a group involving the Canberra Southern Cross Club proposed to build a $25 million leisure complex among the greens and bunkers instead of the retirement village. At the time, The Canberra Times was told the details before the club had a chance to inspect them.

Federal Golf Club Director Bob Correll said it was "lobbed on the federal golf club in very strange circumstances, there'd been no discussion at all with the golf club".

"It just wasn't something that made sense and didn't deliver the needs of the club."

Canberra Southern Cross Club president John Lewis said the club had no interest or involvement in the Federal Golf Club's proposal for retirement living.

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"We wish them well in their endeavors. Any involvement our CEO Ian Mackay has in his role on the Garran Residents' Association committee is a matter for him."

"He provided our board notification of his involvement and that association's opposition to Federal's plans which our board has noted. The Federal Golf Club and its plans are not a topic on the agenda of my board."

Mr Lewis said the 2020 proposal came about when a developer approached a board member with the idea.

"The Board instructed its management team to assess the proposal on its merits," he said. "The president of our board, at that time then met with the president of Federal Golf Club Board who indicated they had no interest in the alternate proposal. Based on this, the Canberra Southern Cross Club took the opportunity no further."

Garran Residents' Association convenor Rob Knight said the development would take green space away from the public.

"They're effectively going to be handing over this land to a private organisation, who will make a windfall profit out of it, and that land that was public for recreation has now been taken away and it's private property."

Mr Correll said the agreement with retirement living company Mbark was "not some sort of bucket of money that's going to the golf club".

Alongside the revenue stream from the sub-lease, about $20 million worth of in-kind funding would be directed to solving the club's water woes.

"That will provide in-kind funding to the golf club to enable it to invest in new pond infrastructures to almost quadruple the size of water storage on the golf course, which is a major problem at the moment," Mr Correll said. "And also replace the existing 40-year-old failing irrigation system on the course as well. Both of those represent significant multi-million dollar investments."

The government's 2021 engagement report on the Red Hill Integrated Plan does note the objection of the Garran Residents' Association and Hughes Residents' Association to the plan, while support was received by the Red Hill Regenerators, ACT Conservation Council, Deakin Residents' Association and Garran and Hughes Residents' Action Group.

An ACT government spokesperson said that "wide consultation" was held on the plan, "including extensive input from local community and stakeholder groups at all stages".

"It's been a fight basically, for two decades, and we're at the end of it going, 'Hang on government, you haven't consulted anywhere near enough to come up with this plan and make this sort of a compromise,'" Mr Knight said.

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