THARWA VILLAGE Draft Village Plan JUNE 2017 © Australian Capital Territory, Canberra 2017 This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission from: Director-General, Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate, ACT Government, GPO Box 158, Canberra ACT 2601. Telephone: 02 6207 1923 Website: www.planning.act.gov.au Privacy Before making a submission to this discussion paper, please review the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate’s privacy policy and annex at www.environment.act.gov.au/about/privacy. Any personal information received in the course of your submission will be used only for the purposes of this community engagement process. Names of organisations may be included in any subsequent consultation report, but all individuals will be de-identified unless prior approval is gained. Accessibility The ACT Government is committed to making its information, services, events and venues as accessible as possible. If you have difficulty reading a standard printed document and would like to receive this publication in an alternative format, such as large print, please phone Canberra Connect on 13 22 81 or email the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate at [email protected] If English is not your first language and you require a translating and interpreting service, please phone 13 14 50. If you are deaf, or have a speech or hearing impairment, and need the teletypewriter service, please phone 13 36 77 and ask for Canberra Connect on 13 22 81. For speak and listen users, please phone 1300 555 727 and ask for Canberra Connect on 13 22 81. For more information on these services visit http://www.relayservice.com.au PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER CONTENTS DEFINITIONS .................................................... V 4. CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES .............43 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................... 1 Challenges ..................................................................43 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................ 5 Opportunities .............................................................44 Purpose and scope .....................................................5 5. THARWA INTO THE FUTURE .........................49 Village plan study area ...............................................6 Village plan structure ................................................49 Block and section map ..............................................6 The vision ....................................................................49 2. PLANNING CONTEXT ....................................11 Character statement .................................................49 Strategic planning .....................................................11 Planning principles ...................................................52 Statutory planning ....................................................12 The village plan..........................................................53 Planning history ........................................................16 6. IMPLEMENTATION........................................61 3. BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS .......................19 The process of change .............................................61 Community engagement ........................................19 Further studies ...........................................................62 Heritage and character ............................................20 END NOTES .....................................................63 Demographics ............................................................24 Land use .....................................................................24 Public domain and connectivity ............................27 Environment and natural hazards .........................33 Infrastructure ..............................................................38 WWW.PLANNING.ACT.GOV.AU iii ENVIRONMENT, PLANNING AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTORATE MAPS Map 1: Spatial context ..................................................4 Map 2: Tharwa Draft Village Plan study area ...........7 Map 3: Block and section ............................................8 Map 4: Murrumbidgee river corridor .......................13 Map 5: Territory Plan land use zones ......................14 Map 6: Heritage significance .....................................22 Map 7: Land custodianship .......................................26 Map 8: Community facilities .....................................28 Map 9: Heritage and recreation networks ..............31 Map 10: Murrumbidgee river corridor .....................32 Map 11: Ecological values .........................................34 Map 12: Bushfire management zones ....................36 Map 13: Flood events .................................................37 Map 14: Spatial framework .......................................50 Map 15: Spatial framework inset .............................51 Map 16: Tharwa precincts .........................................54 Map 17: Lanyon Bowl area ........................................55 TABLES Table 1: Community and recreation facilities located in Tharwa ........................................27 Table 2: Summary of Principles ...............................53 iv THARWA VILLAGE - DRAFT VILLAGE PLAN DEFINITIONS Active travel is travel that involves physical activity Riparian zone is the land alongside creeks, such as walking and cycling. streams, gullies, rivers and wetlands. These areas are unique and ecologically diverse, and are often are how areas of land are Blocks and sections the most fertile parts of the landscape. identified in the ACT. Land is divided into divisions, suburbs, sections and blocks. Territory Plan zoning The Lanyon Bowl, also known as the Lanyon determines what activities/uses can occur on the Landscape Conservation Reserve, extends from blocks. Blocks are usually leased to one entity. Point Hut to Tharwa. It contains the historic Lanyon and Lambrigg homesteads, which are relates to the buildings, associated Built form located within a shared historic rural landscape structures and surrounding public spaces. setting. The reserve is a visual catchment area Catchment areas are the areas of land surrounding and is significant for its preserved and accessible a river. Rain falling in a catchment area that isn't landscape, which bears the imprint of successive absorbed into the ground runs into the river. phases of nineteenth and twentieth century rural development. Ecological communities are groups of plants, animals and other organisms that naturally Shared path is a path for non-motorised transport, occur together. Their structure and composition with the exception of motorised wheelchairs and are determined by environmental factors such power-assisted pedal cycles. Both pedestrians and as climate, landscape position, soil, aspect and cyclists share these paths. altitude. Surveillance or passive surveillance is the ‘eyes Human scale reflects a sympathetic proportional on the street’ from residents and people going relationship between the built form and human about their daily activities to create a sense of dimensions where people are not overwhelmed safety on streets and public spaces. by the built form. Human scale contributes to a Water sensitive urban design (WSUD) is the person’s perception of buildings or other features planning, design and/or construction of the built in the public domain. It is typically referred to when environment to minimise water runoff and ensure discussing the bulk and scale of development. any runoff causes the least amount of damage. It Land use zones are allocated by the Territory is also about wise use of that water to improve the Plan to all land within the ACT. They define what environment. land uses can or cannot occur on a piece of land. See the Territory Plan and more about the zoning system at www.legislation.act.gov.au/ni/2008-27 Placemaking enables people to create attractive streets and places that are prosperous, liveable, healthy and green. It includes urban design and place management and results in the creation of quality public spaces that contribute to people’s health, happiness and wellbeing. Public domain refers to spaces that belong to or are available to the public, including parks, streets and other public spaces such as plazas, courtyards and open spaces. WWW.PLANNING.ACT.GOV.AU v ENVIRONMENT, PLANNING AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTORATE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE ACT GOVERNMENT HAS PREPARED A DRAFT VILLAGE PLAN FOR THARWA THAT DEFINES WHAT IS IMPORTANT ABOUT THE VILLAGE AND PROVIDES A PLANNING FRAMEWORK TO GUIDE ITS VIABLE AND SUSTAINABLE GROWTH INTO THE FUTURE. vi THARWA VILLAGE - DRAFT VILLAGE PLAN XXX EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE ACT GOVERNMENT HAS PREPARED A DRAFT VILLAGE PLAN FOR THARWA THAT DEFINES WHAT IS IMPORTANT ABOUT THE VILLAGE AND PROVIDES A PLANNING FRAMEWORK TO GUIDE ITS VIABLE AND SUSTAINABLE GROWTH INTO THE FUTURE. Tharwa Village is set in picturesque pastoral landscape beside the Murrumbidgee River and at the foot of Mount Tennent. It is the gateway to the Namadgi National Park and Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. Local residents of Tharwa are very proud that this community is Canberra’s oldest officially recognised European settlement. The village retains important elements from its early rural settlement, making it a valued retreat from the suburban edge of Canberra. This Tharwa Draft Village Plan aims to foster the