Application for the first stage of Belconnen's Ginninderry development approved

The application for the first stage of West Belconnen’s Ginninderry development was approved this week and civil works are scheduled to begin in September.

The development application was lodged in March and outlined plans for the first 356 homes in the suburb of Strathnairn.

The entire development, a joint venture between the ACT government and Riverview Developments, will encompass 1000 hectares of land in the ACT bordering the Murrumbidgee River and 600 hectares across the border in NSW.

Ginninderry project director Steve Harding said there were some “fairly standard” conditions around remediation and planning controls for the first stage of development and comments on the development application were in line with his expectations.

“Comments came from community stakeholder groups that we already engage with,” Mr Harding said.

“Some were in relation to environmental concerns, but it wasn’t anything that was unexpected. By and large a lot of the comments were just comments, as opposed to objections.”

The Ginninderra Falls Association has expressed concerns regarding the setback from the river, while other stakeholders, including the Belconnen Community Council, have been pleased with the developer’s conservation efforts.

• Related: ACT government approves West Belconnen development
• Related: Sales begin in Ginninderry
• Related: Affordability the focus of Ginninderry’s second release

The 1600-hectare site includes a 577-hectare conservation corridor along the river. 

National environmental approval is still pending, but Mr Harding said it was expected within the next fortnight.   

The project will include three suburbs in the ACT and one across the border if rezoning approval is granted in NSW.

It will deliver up to 11,500 new homes and take about 30 years to complete.

Stage one will include 296 single-residential houses and 60 multi-unit homes.

The first two sales releases comprised 110 blocks of land and 53 townhouse-style “flexi-living” homes. Almost 90 per cent have sold.

Mr Harding said a handful of house and land packages have also sold and more will be available in coming months.

Multi-unit products aimed at builders and investors will round out the first stage of development.

Plans for the second stage are in progress and expected to include 750 to 800 dwellings.

“We’re hoping to release the second stage towards the end of this year or early next year,” Mr Harding said.

Construction of the display village is expected to begin in late 2017 or early 2018 and Strathnairn’s first residents could be moving in by early 2019.