ACT finalises Territory Plan for housing reform

Minister for Planning, Chris Steel, expressed that the Territory Plan incorporates a “range of minor changes identified since November last year, that will support the effective implementation of the new outcomes focused planning system”.

“The Territory Plan is a living document and will be the foundation for the next stages of planning reform underway, focusing on housing supply,” he said.

“The government will use the features of the new planning system, including the design guides, to support the delivery of more housing that is well designed and sustainable.”

This announcement follows the territory government’s appointment of consultancy firm Urbis, which has assisted in the development of a draft “missing middle” design guide for consultation with architects, planners and the community.

Through this process, Steel stated that this “design-led approach” would “inform consideration of major plan amendments next year” to enable missing middle housing such as “duplexes, townhouses and row houses on RZ1 blocks”.

“Building on the finalised district strategies, the next stage of reform also includes planning for more well-located housing in key precincts, transport corridors and at shopping centres which will require future amendments to the plan.”

The ACT government detailed that specific changes from the interim Territory Plan to the final version include:

• Updates to the application of the Housing Design Guide to exclude minor extensions and alterations to multi-unit housing.
• Additions to the Territory Plan Map to provide separate maps for each district, as opposed to a single document containing all maps.
• Amendments to zoning which has incorporated statutory consultation since the interim Territory Plan was introduced, including amendments to the east lake area.
• The addition of a new assessment requirement to restrict new gas connections for all new or existing developments, including redevelopments, in line with the requirements outlined in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Regulation 2011.

The new Territory Plan also lists Molonglo as a town centre, as opposed to it’s previous status as a group centre. Steel described the reclassification as one of the plan’s “more important amendments” which will “reflect anticipated amendments to the National Capital Plan, once agreed by the National Capital Authority”.

Further changes made to the finalised version of the plan include clarifications around “height requirements, planting areas, urban heat island effects, parking and traffic, retail uses, solar access to outdoor spaces, cross ventilation and energy efficiency of dwellings, site constraints and environmental risks”.

The ACT government stated that revisions to the Territory Plan will “build on and complement” recommendations made to the government through the standing committee on planning, transport and city services’ inquiry into the plan and associated documents, which the government responded to in July of this year.

“Over the next five years, we will evaluate the performance of the planning system to make sure it is delivering better outcomes for the community,” the minister concluded.