School, park and more units planned for Gungahlin's Moncrieff

Moncrieff is set to add a private school and another park to its growing local centre.

More high density living is also on the cards as part of an estate development plan lodged with the ACT Planning and Land Authority.

The application proposes dividing a 6.5 hectare site between O’Keefe Avenue, Yidaki Way, Bernard Heinze Avenue and Hoffman Street into four blocks to include two multi-unit sites, a pocket of open space and the site of a future school.

The land is opposite Moncrieff’s group centre, to the west.

Five hectares of the site, otherwise known as Moncrieff block one, section 33, will be reserved for a private school, in line with the suburb’s concept plan.

Land Development Agency chief executive officer David Dawes said his agency consulted the Education and Training Directorate, which decided against claiming the space for a public school.

“[The directorate] advised it did not need the Moncrieff site as a government school site was available nearby in Taylor, to the north of Horse Park Drive,” he said.

Two multi-unit developments will be built south of the school and capped at a total 90 units.

A “community recreation irrigated parkland” is also earmarked for pocket of the land directly opposite the group centre, the development application shows.

The proposed “pocket park” has been created to retain five existing eucalypt trees and will include seating and dry grassland but will exclude infrastructure such as playground equipment.

Mr Dawes said about 67 of Moncrieff’s 185 hectares would remain open space and include hilltops, ridges and mature and newly-planted trees.

“The open space will provide playgrounds and picnic shelters for Moncrieff residents and the Gungahlin community, and pedestrian and cycle paths for people to explore the variety of open space recreation areas,” he said.

“Several parks at key locations will enhance the suburb’s amenity.”

Construction of one such park, Moncrieff Community Recreation Irrigated Park, would begin mid-year.

“It will include kick-about areas, playgrounds, picnic and barbecue facilities, multi-sport courts, a toilet block and an on-site car park,” Mr Dawes said.

Moncrieff will be home to more than 1300 houses and a number of multi-unit complexes once completed.

Three separate housing complexes are also slated for the suburb’s centre, with development applications for a collective 169 units in Moncrieff lodged in January.

Canberrans have until March 24 to lodge feedback on the latest development application.