The Hume Circle Precinct is slated for high-density residential development in coming years. Photo: Ian Bushnell.
The low-rise Staffordshire Terraces should be excised from the proposed Hume Circle Precinct in the inner south, a parliamentary committee has recommended in a report that slams the National Capital Authority for its poor consultation and communication with the community.
The Joint Standing Committee on National Capital and External Territories has tabled the report from its inquiry into the controversial National Capital Plan (NCP) Amendment No. 102.
The planning changes approved by the National Capital Authority and Territories Minister Kristy McBain allow for high-density residential development on land adjacent to the Hume Circle roundabout in Fyshwick, Griffith and Narrabundah.
Staffordshire Terrace residents were alarmed by the prospect of high-rise towers nearby and possible loss of their homes, while other community members worried about the scale of development the changes would unleash.
The ACT Government also had concerns about the infrastructure needs of such a highly densified area and impacts on its own plans for the East Lake urban renewal project.
The original proposal allowed for apartment towers up to 15 storeys but was scaled back somewhat in the face of community opposition, although buildings of that height would still be permitted in certain sites under certain conditions. The NCA also said the Staffordshire Terrace zoning would not change.
Despite ticking off the amendment, Ms McBain referred it to the committee, given the amount of public interest.
The committee recommended that Staffordshire Terrace be removed from A102 but if it remained residents should be guaranteed that they will be no worse off under NCA planning rules than they would be under the Territory.
The committee said it was satisfied that the Amendment reflected the area’s national significance and merited designation within the National Capital Plan.
But the NCA’s consultation process fell well short of community expectations and best-practice principles including a lack of transparency, accessibility and meaningful engagement.
“The decision to conduct consultation during the Canberra summer holiday period in 2026 significantly limited the ability of community members to participate effectively in the process,” it said.
The committee called out the lack of clarity around the timeline of discussions between the developer proponents and the NCA, and the limited information made publicly available during the development of Amendment 102.
Senator David Pocock said the NCA lost the community’s trust from the outset. Photo: Screenshot.
It said previous amendments were substantially more detailed than Amendment 102 and included detailed conditions of planning and development.
“The committee considers that these deficiencies created a perception of a predetermined outcome and diminished public trust in the integrity of the NCA’s consultation process,” it said.
Chair Alicia Payne said the committee’s recommendations intended to strengthen future NCA consultation and planning processes, improve cooperation between the NCA and the ACT Government, and ensure that infrastructure, community needs and national capital considerations were appropriately addressed as planning for the precinct progresses.
“While there is broad recognition of the potential for renewal and additional housing, the community must be provided with sufficient information about the consultation processes, involved early and openly in major planning decisions, and have confidence in how decisions are made,” she said.
ACT Independent Senator David Pocock said Canberrans supported density if done well but that meant proper consultation, appropriate height limits and making sure the supporting infrastructure was part of the plan and delivered early in the process.
“The NCA lost community trust at the outset with this project by doing a short consultation over summer and failing to provide supporting studies and detailed information about the proposal while also putting forward a 15-storey building height limit adjacent to existing three-storey housing,” he said.
“Hume Circle has great potential but it’s already one of the most accident-prone intersections in the ACT so it’s no wonder residents want to see traffic studies and plans to improve safety.”
The report also said the proposed Hume Circle steering committee should include community representatives and that the Commonwealth should look at ways to strengthen review rights within the NCA planning framework to ensure its processes were consistent with community expectations and comparable with planning arrangements elsewhere in Australia.
The committee wants the NCA to provides an assurance that Canberra’s established centres of hierarchy are retained in the Hume Circle Precinct and that development includes social and affordable housing.
The NCA’s citing of the Griffin Plan to justify the changes also came under scrutiny but the committee found there was enough of a link to connect the two.
The NCA said it would await the outcome of the consideration of the report by the Federal Government.
