Member for Fenner Andrew Leigh, Margaret Timpson’s husband Chris Timpson, City and Government Services Minister Tara Cheyne, and BCC chair Lachlan Butler at Margaret Timpson Park for the announcement. Photo: Ian Bushnell.
Federal Labor has promised to pay for the planned $1.5 million upgrade of the 30-year-old Margaret Timpson Park in Belconnen, an important section of green space in a growing forest of residential towers in the Town Centre.
A 2024 ACT Labor election promise, the upgrades will include a new playground, a new public toilet, barbecues, picnic tables, landscaping, and an accessible ramp to the park on the northern edge.
Member for Fenner Andrew Leigh said the money would flow if the Albanese Government was returned at the 3 May election.
Mr Leigh said the deal was a good example of how the two Labor governments were working together to deliver infrastructure projects in the ACT.
“We want to make sure that the two levels of government work together, and I think that’s one of the really strong things about this partnership,” he said.
“I’ve got Katy Gallagher as the Finance Minister. Having been the former Chief Minister, I know there’s a great working relationship between the federal and ACT governments.
“We don’t make an announcement of this kind without close and careful engagement with the ACT Government.”
Mr Leigh said the funding would make the park, named in honour of the first ACT Woman of the Year, who died in 1993, a better place to be for the many different people who used it.
“It’ll ensure that Margaret Timpson Park is a better space for the many office workers who come to use it, the shoppers who spill out of Westfield, the young parents who are looking for a place for their kids to play, the seniors who are looking for a spot to relax,” he said.
“It will be a great investment and it will ensure that a terrific park honouring an extraordinary Canberran becomes an even better place into the future.”
ACT City and Government Services Minister Tara Cheyne said the upgrades would be delivered over the next two financial years, given the time needed for the procurement process.
But the government was keen to get on with it due to the extraordinary densification of the town centre and community feedback showing how much the park is valued, Ms Cheyne, a nearby resident, said.
“I’ve seen firsthand every single day how this park is being used,” she said.
“We’ve got so many more residents than we had 10 years ago, and many people use this as their green space, as their backyard.”
Ms Cheyne said there had been calls for a public toilet for some time, and the nearest playground was 2 km away.
Belconnen Community Council chair Lachlan Butler said Federal Labor’s commitment would help the much-needed project get off the ground sooner.
“We have thousands more people living in Belconnon, and we need to make sure the public spaces improve and are upgraded to match that,” he said.
“When this park was built, it wasn’t designed with all the residents that we have around us today and that’s one of the reasons why we’ve been calling for upgrades to the park.
“We want to make this a really, really good space for everyone that uses the town centre to be able to come and stay and want to stay, and not just as a thoroughfare to get somewhere else.”
Mr Butler said the council would also like to see the park expanded.
“Next door has been a hole in the ground for far too long, and we want to see that addressed,” he said.
