Starting at 9:15am on Monday 16th November 2009 a shuttle service will operate in and around the Belconnen Town Centre Community Centre Precinct providing access to the elderly and mobility impaired to and from the Cameron Avenue bus stop.

The Shuttle Serive will run approximately every 15 minutes and complete a loop leaving Cameron Avenue, heading north along Chandler Street, south along benjamin and west back along Cameron Avenue returning to the starting point.

The Shuttle service will start and finish at the newly installed Taxi
Zone on the southern side of Cameron Avenue next to the pedestrian
crossing. The shuttle service will stop at three locations, the first being adjacent to the entrance to the Belconnen Senior Citizens Club, which will also service the Belconnen Library and Community Centre. The second stop will be located on Chandler Street adjacent to the Lakeview Plaza close to the intersection with Benjamin Way. This stop will provide better access to all businesses and services located in

Belconnen residents and interested citizens are invited to a public meeting about the case for Roadside Memorials.

7.30pm, Tuesday 17 November
The Community Room, upstairs Belconnen Library, Chandler Street, Belconnen

At the conclusion of the meeting, end of year refreshments will be served.

For more information, please call 02) 6254 9944 /0433 176 662 or email president@belcouncil.org.au.

A large number of commuters put questions to RoadsACT about the issues listed below. When the minutes of the meeting are received by TAMS, they will be posted on this site.

RoadsACT have made some commitments to improving the Bus Interchange. This will need to be monitored.

Issues addressed were:
• Bus Shelters (their adequacy and placement);
• Traffic Concerns;
• Infrastructure and Walkways to Bus Stops; and
• Extension of Westfield Mall.

The meeting was held at:

12.30 – 2.00pm, Friday 30 October 2009
Community Room, upstairs Belconnen Library, Chandler Street, Belconnen

For more information, please call (02) 6254 9944/043 317 6662 or email president@belcouncil.org.au

AECOM has been engaged by Roads ACT to undertake a feasibility study for intersection improvements in the Macgregor/ Holt area. The attached letter and map describe the project and opportunities for comment.

The 2009 ToiletSmart program has been extended.

The program which was scheduled to close 30 June 2009 has now been extended.

Register now!

The 2009 ToiletSmart program assists ACT residential property owners to replace single flush toilets with four-star, water efficient 4.5/3 litre dual flush toilets.

Replacing an 11 litre single flush toilet suite with a four-star dual flush toilet, which uses just 4.5 litres for a full flush and 3 litres for the half flush, will result in a saving of 6.5 to 8 litres of water per flush. Over one year, this could add up to a saving of around 36,600 litres of water for an average Canberra household of between 2 to 3 people.

The ToiletSmart program is being delivered through a partnership between the ACT Government, Caroma Dorf and the Master Plumbers Association (MPA) ACT. The MPA will take program registrations, and arrange the supply and installation of the selected toilet suites by licensed plumbers.

LATEST UPDATE

Here is the direct link to the Draft Preliminary Sketch Plan for the Scullin Shopping Centre on the TAMS website which is now exhibited at the Scullin Shops and the Belconnen Library. The feedback from those who saw the plans at Scullin was extremely positive.

A draft preliminary sketch plan is now prepared for the Scullin Shops Refurbishment. Consultation to test these ideas with the community, leaseholders and traders was held on Saturday the 11th of July between 11am and 2pm at the Scullin Shops site. Stakeholders' views were collected by Susan Conroy, Cultural Planning, and Julia MacIntyre of Territories and Municipal Services.

The draft sketch plan will be on display at the Belconnen Library and at the Scullin Shops site until the end of July.

RoadsACT have advised me on 3 July 2009 that shelters, with seating, will be provided within three to four weeks on the Taxation Office side of the Cameron Offices' bus stop.

If you have any comments on this issue and other transport issues relating to the 'Enhancement of the Belconnen Town Centre', please post them here. We need to have a full debate on this issue.

Here are some photos of the bus stops here.

The May 2009 Community Forum will be held at:

7.30pm, Tuesday 19 May 2009
Community Room above the Chandler Street Belconnen Library

The Belconnen Community Council invites Belconnen residents and interested citizens to a public meeting with the Department of Disability, Housing and Community Services and Territory and Municipal Services (TAMS). The presentations are about the progress to date of the creation of new regional COMMUNITY CENTRES at the former HOLT and COOK school sites. TAMS are creating Community Parks and Playgrounds on those sites and are conducting community consultations on their plans for these sites.

A proposal for the development of a cemetery in southen Canberra has been made by Mr Robert Smeaton, Chairman of the ACT Public Cemeteries Authority.
Belconnen residents are encouraged to provide feedback on the issue during this first consultation process which ends on the 22nd May 2009.

For more details please click here.

The surveys and fact sheets are also available at all ACT Public Libraries and Canberra Connect Shop fronts.

The ACT Government and the Little Company of Mary have been in discussion about the possible sale of the Calvary Public Hospital from the Little Company of Mary to the ACT Government.

How will this affect the people of Belconnen?

The 250-bed hospital is currently owned and managed by the Little Company of Mary Health Care and is 95% funded by ACT Health.

The Little Company of Mary also owns and runs a 95-bed private hospital and health-care complex co-located with Calvary Public Hospital.

The ACT Government has stated that having Canberra’s two public hospitals owned and managed by two separate entities is untenable in the long run. The ACT Government has offered to buy the hospital for approximately $80 million – its present valuation - and take over its management. It would also be open to the Little Company of Mary to become full owner of Clare Holland House which they now manage on a short-term contract.

Over the next two years, a $124 million facelift will be made to the Belconnen Town Centre giving people better access to the shopping mall, simpler bus routes and easier pedestrian access to the town centre.

Over the next 18 months, significant construction in Belconnen Town Centre will create:

• New shops and car parking fronting Lathlain Street. Westfield Belconnen’s extension also includes a new bus station that connects directly to the cinema and other entertainment, shops and services in level three of the Mall.
• Temporary bus stations will be located on Cohen Street, Lathlain Street and Cameron Avenue. These bus stations will provide connections to all bus routes passing through the Belconnen Town Centre.
  

ACTPLA and its consultants, SGS Economics and Planning, briefed Shirley Gourgaud and Brian Rhynehart of the BCC together with Peter Nolan from the Giralang Residents Action Group on the North-East Belconnen Retail Strategy on 14 January 2009 at their Dickson Office. Shirley requested that retail space for Dunlop and some issues of interest regarding the proposed new suburb of Lawson also be discussed. The minutes of this meeting are attached.

Belconnen Community Council announces its new executive following the October 2008 Annual General Meeting.

The office holders for the next 12 months are as follows:

President: Shirley Gourgaud

Vice President: Damien Haas

Secretary: Mathew Watts

Public Officer: Brian Rhynehart

Committee Members: (to be announced)

ACT Light Rail, a collective of individuals interested in stimulating renewed debate for exploring Light Rail options for the Capital Region will be hosting a public meeting this coming Wednesday 12th September.

The group is hoping to reenergize the public transport debate before the upcoming Federal and 2008 Territory Election. The meeting will be held at:

Wednesday 12 September, 7:30pm
Griffin Centre, Genge Street, Civic

Visit the ACT Light Rail website for more information.