Haig Park, ACT Conservation Management Plan Approved January 2020 Navin Officer heritage consultants Pty Ltd acn: 092 901 605 Number 4 Kingston Warehouse 71 Leichhardt St. Kingston ACT 2604 www.nohc.com.au ph 02 6282 9415 fx 02 6282 9416 Document control Project client: Tait Network Project proponent City Renewal Authority Document description: Conservation Management Plan Project Manager: Nicola Hayes Authors: Nicola Hayes and Julia Maskell Internal review: Rebecca Parkes, Kelvin Officer, Kerry Navin, Elle Lillis, Dr Susan McIntyre-Tamwoy Document status: Approved by ACT Heritage Council Document revision status Author Revision number Internal review Date issued Nicola Hayes and v1.6 Rebecca Parkes 17 May 2017 Julia Maskell Nicola Hayes and v1.9 – 19 May 2017 Julia Maskell Nicola Hayes v2.2 Kelvin Officer 30 June 2017 Nicola Hayes v2.4 Kerry Navin 3 July 2017 Nicola Hayes v3.1 – 11 July 2017 Nicola Hayes and v3.2 – 7 September 2017 Julia Maskell Nicola Hayes and v3.4 Elle Lillis 11 September Julia Maskell 2017 Nicola Hayes v3.5 – 19 September 2017 Nicola Hayes v4.2 24 May 2018 Nicola Hayes v4.3 30 May 2018 Nicola Hayes v4.5 Dr Susan McIntyre-Tamwoy 25 June 2018 Nicola Hayes v5.1 Changes following further 15 July 2019 council advice and copy edit Sophie Davis (City v5.2 Updated references to City 16 August 2019 Renewal Authority) and Gateway Urban Design Framework and place plan. Nicola Hayes v6.1 Changes following further 18 November 2019 council advice Sophie Davis (City v6.2 Updating tree information 3 December 2019 Renewal Authority) based on advice from TCCS Urban Treescapes Nicola Hayes v7 Approved final document 14 January 2020 Haig Park: Conservation Management Plan i Navin Officer Heritage Consultants Pty Ltd January 2020 Copyright to this report rests with the City Renewal Authority except for the following: • the Navin Officer Heritage Consultants logo and business name (copyright to this rests with Navin Officer Heritage Consultants Pty Ltd); • generic content and formatting which is not specific to this project or its results (copyright to this material rests with Navin Officer Heritage Consultants Pty Ltd); • descriptive text and data relating to Aboriginal objects which must, by law, be provided to ACT Heritage Council for its purposes and use; • information which, under Australian law, can be identified as belonging to Indigenous intellectual property; and • content which was sourced from and remains part of the public domain. Cover photographs: NOHC Field Photographs 2017, NLA Aerial Run 2-47-71, NLA MAP G89984.C3G45 1927, Canberra Museum and Gallery. Haig Park: Conservation Management Plan ii Navin Officer Heritage Consultants Pty Ltd January 2020 NOTICE OF APPROVAL Haig Park: Conservation Management Plan iii Navin Officer Heritage Consultants Pty Ltd January 2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Tait Network on behalf of the City Renewal Authority (CRA) has commissioned Navin Officer Heritage Consultants to conduct a review and revision of the draft Conservation Management Plan (CMP) (Eric Martin & Associates 2013). This CMP draws and builds upon much of the content originally presented in the draft 2013 CMP. This CMP has been developed in accordance with the articles outlined in the Burra Charter (Australia ICOMOS 2013) and the ACT Guiding Principles for the development of CMPs (ACT Heritage Council 2015; see Appendix 4 of this CMP). Haig Park covers Section 8 (Blocks 3, 6 and 7) and Section 14 (Block 1) Braddon, and Sections 66 (Blocks 4, 9–13, 18, 19, 22) and Section 65 (Blocks 1–3, 9) Turner. All blocks are zoned PRZ1: Urban Open Space except for 1/65 Turner, which is zoned Community Facilities. Existing amenities include a fitness track, public toilets, barbeques and time-controlled parking areas. Haig Park spans an area of 19 hectares to the east and west of Northbourne Avenue and features over 2000 exotic trees. Haig Park is a dense shelterbelt of predominantly exotic species of trees and shrubs. It is a very accessible forested park and provides a place for a range of recreational pursuits. It is well known to Canberra residents and is valued for outdoor recreation, its visual qualities, and its links to the early landscape history of Canberra. The Park is particularly noted for its landscape of deciduous and evergreen trees and their historical associations. The heritage value of Haig Park and its individual features are recognised by many in the Canberra community. The Park is entered on the ACT Heritage Register. The Heritage Significance of Haig Park Haig Park is a significant landscape feature of Canberra, dating from the founding years of the National Capital. It demonstrates the early establishment of plantings in the city for protection from climatic extremes and for landscape beautification. The Park is particularly significant for its designed function as an extensive urban ‘shelterbelt’, or windbreak, from dust-laden north-westerly winds. It was planted to protect the first buildings constructed in north Canberra at Civic and in the newly developing suburbs of Ainslie, Braddon and Turner. Initially planted in 1921, Haig Park extended over 1780 metres and comprised 14 rows of mixed evergreen and deciduous tree species. Haig Park is the only remaining largely intact, originally planted shelterbelt in Canberra. It is not only a rare example of large-scale shelterbelt planting in an urban area of Canberra but is also rare nationally. Until the 1950s most urban development occurred to its south. Then, following expansion of the city further north, the Park became an integral component of the landscaped open space system between adjoining suburbs, in keeping with contemporary landscape and city planning principles. The original design remains highly intact and is a distinctive landscape feature. The initial selection and patterns of tree species establish the historic significance of the Park, while changes to date remain faithful to the original design and contribute to its heritage significance. Haig Park has been assessed as significant against Heritage Act 2004 criteria a, b, and d. At this stage it is not considered to meet criterion c, e, f, h, and g. Development of Conservation Policies – Opportunities and Constraints A number of opportunities and constraints have been identified in the CMP revision process. The community and various stakeholder groups have mixed views regarding heritage significance and the preservation of trees in the Park. The future needs of the Inner North area serve as both an opportunity and a constraint. Opportunity exists to retain the Park’s heritage significance and green space for the future Canberra community in an increasingly dense urban landscape, while allowing successful activation of the space in line with community and stakeholder views and expectations. Opportunities also exist to highlight the Aboriginal history and cultural significance in the area around Sullivans Creek. Haig Park: Conservation Management Plan iv Navin Officer Heritage Consultants Pty Ltd January 2020 The constraints primarily relate to statutory and zoning requirements. Constraints include zoning constraints for PRZ1 Urban Open Space Zone and Community Facilities Zone, and the National Capital Plan – Special Requirement for Territory Land which apply across the entirety of Haig Park. Overall Conservation Policy Conservation policies have been developed under six key objectives. These objectives are: 1. heritage management; 2. conservation of significant fabric, uses and associations; 3. conservation of the setting and feasible and compatible uses; 4. changes that may be made; 5. interpretation of heritage significance; and 6. review of the CMP keeping records. The heritage advice outlined in this CMP provides guidance about how to adequately conserve the heritage significance of Haig Park while allowing some adaptive use and conservation of a large area of green space in Canberra’s Inner North. ~ o0o ~ Haig Park: Conservation Management Plan v Navin Officer Heritage Consultants Pty Ltd January 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 STUDY AREA LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION ....................................................................... 1 1.2 PROJECT BRIEF.............................................................................................................. 1 1.3 AUTHORSHIP .................................................................................................................. 3 1.4 CLIENT .......................................................................................................................... 3 1.5 STUDY LIMITATIONS ........................................................................................................ 3 1.6 STATUTORY LISTINGS ..................................................................................................... 4 1.6.1 ACT Heritage Register ............................................................................................... 4 1.6.2 ACT Tree Register ..................................................................................................... 4 1.6.3 National Capital Authority ........................................................................................... 5 1.7 NON-STATUTORY LISTINGS ............................................................................................. 5 1.8 DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................................