Canberrans are invited to help shape the early design of a new community hub at the Kippax Group Centre in Holt.

Mick Gentleman, ACT Minister for Planning and Land Management, said a new community hub will provide a place for the West Belconnen community to connect, host events and deliver community services.

“Consultation with the local community has told us that Kippax needs a new community hub, and we want to deliver this,” Mr Gentleman said.

“The ACT Government wants to hear from Canberrans about how the community hub can be used, operated. and designed – so it meets the needs of the community.

“We are asking people how we can make the hub a great place for everyone in the local community, so we can make sure its design is fit-for-purpose into the future.

“Feedback gathered through this consultation will inform the concept design stage of the project. There will be more opportunities for the community to have their say on the community hub in future stages of the development.”

Mr Gentleman said the Kippax Community Hub project is part of the ACT Government’s plan to revitalise the area through the Kippax Group Centre Master Plan, to meet the future needs of the growing and changing West Belconnen community.

However, earlier this year, Elizabeth Kikkert, one of two Canberra Liberals MLAs for Ginninderra, said the government had ignored the views of hundreds of Kippax residents, and did not address a shortage of parking. (Read more: “Liberals: Government plans for Kippax ignore residents’ views”, 8 March.)

Ms Kikkert and her colleague Peter Cain MLA, said: “While we welcome the design of a new community hub for Kippax, it is hard to excuse why it has taken the ACT Government so long to implement its revitalisation plan for the area. As a program that began in 2013, it has taken more than a decade for the Government to finally begin stakeholder engagement on a new community hub. This is an unacceptable timeline.

“We hold further reservations as to whether the design phase of the hub will be genuinely consultative. We only need to remember the Planning Bill 2022 from June this year to recall instances where the Labor-Greens treated community consultation as tokenistic.” (Read more: “Planning Amendment Bill passes ACT Legislative Assembly”, 2 June.)

The ACT Government’s community consultation is open from 3 July to 20 August. People who live or work in the West Belconnen area are invited to give feedback online and in-person.

This includes through an information stand at the Kippax Library, pop-ups at Kippax Fair shopping centre, a public forum, and stakeholder forums.

For more information, visit the YourSay website at: http://www.yoursay.act.gov.au/kippax.

Mr Cain and Ms Kikkert said they would continue to watch the implementation of the Kippax Group Centre Master Plan closely, and welcomed anyone in the community to reach out to them. They can be contacted through the following, [email protected] and 02 6205 1927; or [email protected] and 02 6205 1405.