The Inner North
many more strengths than those listed above, but Steve’s job was not
to do an exhaustive stocktake of the strengths we have, but to sketch
some of the strengths we have which are particularly relevant for us in
meeting our challenges).
How do the challenges faced by the suburban churches fit with the
changes that are occurring in the Inner North?
Steve and Briony Griffiths and Geoff Wellington gathered together some
remarkable data from the ACT Government planners about the ex-
pected changes in the Inner North.
Over the next 25 years the ACT government is expecting that the popu-
lation of Canberra will grow from 400,000 in 2016 to 575,000 in 2041- a
growth of 45%.
It is expected that the Inner North will grow in this period from 54,000 to
79,000 people, also a growth of 45%, and the number of dwellings will
grow from about 21,000 to about 33,000 - a growth of 52%.
So, there will be substantial growth in the Inner North, but the most re-
markable number in the ACT Government planning documents is the
potential growth in that part of the Inner North which is clustered around
the tram and is called the Inner North Corridor. The ACT Government
argues that the number of dwellings in this corridor could increase from
17,000 dwellings to 54,000 dwellings – an increase of 37,000 dwellings.
This increase could consist of 11,000 additional dwellings under exist-
ing planning controls, 4,000 additional dwellings from height increases
to existing planning standards, 8,000 additional dwellings from an ex-
pansion of the City into West Basin, 6,000 additional dwellings from ex-
pansion on government sites and 8,000 additional dwellings from ex-
pansion to the east of Watson.
So, under business-as-usual development in the Inner North, we will
see 12,000 extra dwellings and 25,000 extra people in the next 25
years. But if decisions are taken to accelerate development in the In-
ner North, and if the tram encourages extra development, we could see
many, many more dwellings than an extra 12,000. There is space in
fact for an extra 37,000 dwellings. No-one believes that we will actually
see an extra 37,000 dwellings in the next 25 years, but clearly the sky is
the limit, and the population growth we will see in the Inner North will be
between very large and huge.
St Margaret’s News
13
December 2018