Franklin named best master planned community at Property Council awards

What makes a community a great one? The Canberra suburb of Franklin might hold some of the answers.

The capital’s first master planned community has been named Australia’s best as part of the Property Council of Australia’s annual Innovation and Excellence Awards.

Land Development Agency CEO David Dawes said the Gungahlin suburb’s planning made the most of its location, heritage and cultural features, alongside innovative programs aimed at connecting the community.

“Franklin contains a mix of block sizes that aim to promote housing diversity and meet the long-term needs of the community,” he said.

“Affordable housing options included the award-winning OwnPlace program, the Land Rent Scheme and an affordable housing demonstration project. We also delivered a charity house project.

“The LDA’s community development program Mingle was piloted in Franklin, helping build a vibrant community through social inclusion activities. The success of Mingle in Franklin has resulted in its implementation across five other LDA suburbs.”

Mr Dawes said the master planning process helped better integrate a number of Franklin’s community facilities and recreation areas, including Franklin Early Childhood School, Franklin Recreational Park and links to higher density development along Flemington Road.

A number of culturally-significant features have also been combined in Franklin’s planning, including Old Well Station Track, Gungaderra​ Creek, North Mitchell Grasslands, Mulangarri​ Grasslands and Gubur Dhaura, a site of Aboriginal cultural significance and now a six-hectare community space.

The suburb also comes with quirks that could never be planned. 

Franklin the elusive Maremma Sheepdog, named after the suburb he’s frequently been spotted in, has been on the loose in Gungahlin for at least three years and even has his own Facebook page.

The suburb has also contributed to the migration of residents to Canberra’s north and was among the top 10 largest-growing areas in the nation’s capital last year.

The number of people per square kilometre rose by 230 in Franklin in 2015, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Franklin encompasses about 256 hectares, including 132 hectares of developed land.

It houses more than 3000 dwellings and is expected to become home to between 6000 and 7000 people by 2017.

The community wasn’t the only Canberra nomination in the running for a gong at the Property Council of Australia’s annual Innovation and Excellence Awards, which were announced Friday night.

Canberra Airport was nominated for Best Public Building, while Deakin’s Equinox Business Park was nominated for Best Business or Industrial Park.