The next Meeting of the Weston Creek Community Council will be held on Wednesday 30 May at the Weston Club at 7.30 pm. Our Guest Speaker this month will be Mr David Papps, the Director General of the Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate of the ACT Government.
This Directorate covers a diverse range of issues from Environment which includes energy, water, climate change and renewables, to Planning and Land Use through ACTPLA, Transport Planning, Heritage and Nature Conversation. It is a wide ranging portfolio which covers many of those matters of interest to residents.
I was personally disappointed that there were not more residents at our last Meeting to hear the excellent work and the range of work that Communities at Work does for our community. The Chief Executive Officer, Ms Lynne Harwood, outlined the role of her organisation and it was truly staggering just what Communities at Work provides for the Community from the very young right through to the aged.
Bouquets to the ACT Government with the decision to undertake to collect unwanted televisions and computer products for free at the Mugga Lane and Mitchell Transfer Stations. Although a little late in my opinion, this is still a very welcome and wise decision given the changeover to digital television signals on 5 June. Clearly it will go some way to assist with stopping the dumping of these items at least in our community. An extension of this collection to a kerbside pick-up on a regular basis would be a further way to try to stop the unwanted dumping of goods throughout Canberra with its associated impact on the environment and the burden this places on local Charities.
After talking about the impacts of the Molonglo development on Weston Creek for the past three years with the ACT Government and the various arms of the Public Service, Council is pleased that a consultant,Urbis Pty Ltd, has been engaged by the Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate to undertake a study titled “Weston Creek/Molonglo Valley Transitional Impacts on Community, Sport and Recreational Facilities Study”. As part of the study, a profile of the existing community of Weston Creek and the likely incoming community of Molonglo will be developed, to provide information about the types of users and uses of community facilities; as well as a thorough understanding of the existing, committed and planned provision of community, sport and recreation facilities
Transport is also an issue and following my discussions with the Chief Minister in November last year, I am pleased to know that the bus services to and from Woden will be changed so that from the end of the month departure times for the 25/28 and 26/27 routes will be spaced 30 minutes apart giving some residents the option of a 30 minute service during the off peak periods. This is a good outcome though I would still ask that we have a more frequent service during the day and that we also have direct services into the City in the off peak times.
To keep up to date with all issues affecting Weston Creek please monitor the Weston Creek Community Council’s website at www.wccc.com.au .
I look forward to seeing you at the next Public meeting.
Tom Anderson
Chair