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| ISSUES - ALBERT HALL Albert Hall Precinct Redevelopment - for more information , visit the Friends of the Albert Hall website. 23 June 2009: Albert Hall Precinct Redevelopment 'dead and buried' The
National Capital Authority has dumped a proposal to allow more development in
the historic Albert Hall precinct, saying the issue is ''dead and buried'' for
now. But ACT and Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Chris Peters said it was a lost opportunity to enliven the area as a tourist hub, including putting cafes and restaurants on the Lake Burley Griffin foreshore. National Capital Authority chief executive Gary Rake said yesterday the draft amendment to the National Capital Plan, first announced almost 2-and-a-half years ago, had been withdrawn because it had been on hold since February 2008 and there was ''currently no active interest by any proponent'' to proceed with it. ''That amendment is dead and buried. With planning, there is always the potential for new ideas to come forward. If someone came with an idea for anything related to that site, we would start afresh and take account of the heritage of the area,'' he said. Mr Rake denied lobbying by community groups was the only reason the draft amendment was dropped. ''There's a very definite change in the stance of the authority in favour of recognising heritage in Canberra so in the absence of any active pressing for this to continue, we're inclined to not proceed with the change,'' he said. Report from Canberra Times 23 June 2009 The
YRA The Yarralumla Residents Association welcomes this decision, and congratulates
the NCA for its acceptance of the concerns of the wider community, regarding DA53. We welcome the removal of proposals for land use changes, retention of the clover-leaf roads, removal of additional traffic lights and the retention of Heritage values for the Albert Hall and surrounding land. 24 November 2007: The community and professional workshops on heritage, traffic and urban design issues arising from the proposal to develop the Albert Hall precinct have been deferred until February 2008 because of the 2007 Federal Election. A heritage assessment has also been commissioned. 12 November 2007: Federal Labor promise $0.5m to restore the Albert Hall, if elected on 24 November 2007. Media Release. 19 October 2007: Opposition Heritage spokesman, Mr Richard Mulcahy MLA called for Albert Hall to be managed by the Cultural Facilities Corporation; and made a welcome commitment to public management of Albert Hall under a future Liberal government and to its management by the Cultural Facilities Corporation. Media release. 17 October 2007: the Chief Minister responded in the Legislative Assembly to questions asked by ACT Greens leader Dr Deb Foskey, MLA about the heritage values that will be included in the ACT government’s nomination of Albert Hall for National Heritage Listing and for public access to the relevant documentation; and about details of ACT Government plans for community consultation for the next phase, in which the government will produce a Plan of Management for Albert Hall. The Greens’ questions and the Chief Minister’s detailed replies can be found at page 3032 in Hansard and here. 24th
May 2007: a public meeting was held at the Albert Hall to discuss future directions
for the Albert Hall. A panel with local senators and MHRs, Chief Minister for
the ACT John Stanhope, representatives of the Heritage Council, the Walter Burley
Griffin Society and the Friends of the Albert Hall answered questions from the
audience. Petition The National Capital Authority has released Draft Amendment 53 for discussion regarding redevelopment of the precint in the vicinity of the Albert Hall. The Yarralumla Residents Association and Friends of the Albert Hall have concerns regarding the consultation process and seek support for a Petition. The Petition will be presented to the House of Representatives. Concerned Australian citizens are invited to support the YRA and Friends of the Albert Hall by signing the Petition. This can be done by printing the Petition from here. Signatures should be added, together with the Petitioner's printed name and address. Paper copies of the Petition should be mailed before 13 April 2007 to Friends of Albert Hall at PO Box 7123, Yarralumla ACT 2600. The petition will then be presented to the House of Representatives on a date to be advised. Federal members will be kept informed by e-mail about the numbers coming in so they can see the strength of community views on this issue. Submission to the NCA close on 4 May 2007. The community petition opposing DA 53 - with now some 3357 signatures - will be presented to Annette Ellis MP in Parliament House on Monday 14th May at 1.30pm on behalf of the people of Canberra and surrounding regions who have signed this, by members of the Yarralumla Residents' Association and Friends of the Albert Hall. Notice of disallowance motion in the Senate 28 March 2007 Senator Bob Brown’s notice of motion yesterday to disallow the NCA’s four other Draft Amendments to the National Capital Plan suspends these for the present. These DAs were the ones the Federal Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital had recommended be reconsidered, a recommendation rejected by Minister Jim Lloyd on 22 March 2007. One of them, DA 56 The Griffin Legacy – Principles and Policies, is relevant to the Albert Hall as it addresses the NCA’s ‘Griffin Legacy’ principles used to justify DA53, the Albert Hall proposal. At a press conference on Monday 2 April 2007 Michael Ball, Chair of the National Capital Authority, announced the decision to withdraw two elements of Draft Amendment 53 to the National Capital Plan. There will be no 8-storey ‘landmark’ building in the precinct, and it appears the land use for the area around the Albert Hall will not be changed from cultural to commercial as proposed. The decisions are summarised on the 2 April 2007 NCA press release. This is a step in the right direction but not the giant step we are calling for, the withdrawal of DA53. The Albert Hall and the NCA Our unique Constitutional status can be confusing! But here is an attempt to clarify the responsibilities of the ACT government and the NCA for the area subject to DA53. The Albert Hall stands on ACT land and is thus listed on the ACT Heritage Register. The NCA is not required to produce a Conservation Management Plan for heritage sites on ACT land. The Conservation Management Plan for the Albert Hall commissioned by the ACT Government still has to be considered by the ACT Heritage Council, so its heritage assessments and conservation recommendations are not yet finalised. This Conservation Management Plan covers the Albert Hall precinct as defined in the listing on the ACT Heritage Register – ie it assesses the heritage values only of the area inside the loop road around the Albert Hall and makes recommendations only for this area. These statutory boundaries do not indicate that heritage values are absent from adjacent areas – eg the wider area covered by DA53 where NCA, as the responsible planning authority, should commission its own heritage assessment. Until the ACT’s heritage assessment is finalised and until a heritage assessment for the whole area covered by DA53 is available, there is no basis for the NCA’s claim that DA56 takes account of the heritage values of the area. There is a lesson for the NCA here! As the responsible planning authority, it should routinely commission heritage assessments and integrate them into the planning process as a matter of course.
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