Project status: In Progress

The ACT Government is developing a place plan for the East Lake urban renewal area. The place plan sets out what East Lake could look like and what’s needed to create that place. It reflects the community's insights, priorities and vision for the area’s future.

The place plan will shape the area’s urban renewal. It shows how East Lake will be a celebration of the three Ngunnawal elements of Wiinyu (sun), Dhawura (land) and Ngadjung (water) and of the area’s history, people, environment and iconic businesses.

How you had your say

Thank you to everyone who shared their views on the draft place plan. Consultation is now closed. The stage 2 listening report outlines how we engaged with the community and key stakeholders, and what we heard during engagement. Public comments from the consultation can be viewed on the comment board.

How we will use your views

Your comments on the draft place plan will help us finalise the place plan, which will guide future redevelopment of East Lake.

The place plan recommends some new land uses, so we will need to vary the Territory Plan to allow those uses. The place plan will inform the planning report that is required before we can submit a formal variation to the Territory Plan and put it out for community consultation, likely in late 2023.

Now: Future:

Next steps

The next steps are to finalise the East Lake Place Plan and technical assessments by the end of 2023. The final place plan and technical assessments will inform the preparation of an amendment to the Territory Plan anticipated to commence in late 2023. Further community consultation will be undertaken for the amendment to the Territory Plan.

Suburban Land Agency (SLA) will use the place plan to inform how they will plan for future residential development in the Causeway precinct. This will include preparing a Place Design Brief.

The place plan and place design brief will both be used to guide development so it is consistent with the community’s vision for the area and inform SLA’s estate development plan (EDP) and subsequent EDP development application.

Most recommendations in the place plan will require further research, community consultation and funding and/or be initiatives taken up by private enterprise.

Undergrounding the existing overhead powerlines

A development application has been lodged to underground the existing overhead powerlines in the Causeway precinct. Once approved, the subsequent undergrounding of the power lines will commence followed by the removal of the existing overhead lines, then the removal of the existing Causeway Switching Station.

How your feedback informed the draft place plan

Thank you to everyone who provided comments and insights about the East Lake area in July and August 2022. Your feedback and comments are captured in the stage 1 community engagement listening report. Your feedback informed the development of the draft place plan (see parts 1 and 2 in the document library), which went out for community feedback in early 2023.

More information

The East Lake Place Plan can be viewed using the links below.

Key priorities in the Place Plan

East Lake will offer diverse housing choices in The Causeway area. The railway station will be a transport hub with residential and commercial mixed-use development. The whole area will have lots of connected green links and opportunities for community facilities. It will offer opportunities for business, light industry and education, including the CIT campus, which could be a hub that links skills, innovation and industry.

Key proposals in the Draft East Lake Place Plan include:

  • introduce a diverse range of housing, including medium density, social and community housing
  • create a new mixed-use precinct around an upgraded railway station, which will become a multi-modal transport hub with new public spaces and connected to local public transport and active travel routes
  • co-locate the railway museum with an upgraded railway station to allow this important community asset to thrive and tell the rail history of the area
  • introduce new streets and pathways to improve links within East Lake and to the surrounding suburbs
  • celebrate the existing heritage elements in East Lake, such as the Causeway Hall, to improve education and links to Jerrabomberra Wetlands
  • connect the CIT Fyshwick Trade Skills Centre to the ACT innovation sector. This precinct would attract future thinkers and industry such as electric vehicle, renewable energy and advanced manufacturing companies to work with staff and students to underpin innovation and economic development in Canberra
  • provide for community uses, including a school if required, that are close to new public transport stops, active travel routes and co-located to create community hubs
  • remediate the landfill area to allow for new formal and informal recreational opportunities, but keeping the opportunity for this area to be realised for appropriate development in the longer term
  • allow for a new information centre near the gateway to the Jerrabomberra Wetlands that offers the opportunity for cultural sharing and for education and information about land rehabilitation.

The Draft East Lake Place Plan has been prepared in the context of the wider work underway to reform the planning system, including draft district strategies. The place plan is informed by, and sits alongside, the Draft Inner South District Strategy, where East Lake is identified as an ‘area of change’.

East Lake is located on the south-eastern edge of Lake Burley Griffin. The site covers parts of Kingston, Fyshwick and Griffith and includes the Canberra Railway Station, the Mildura Street industrial/commercial area and the growing Canberra Avenue east-west corridor linking the city with Queanbeyan.

East Lake is immediately bounded by Kingston Foreshore, Jerrabomberra Wetlands and Canberra Avenue, and covers approximately 100 hectares.

Strategically located where the Canberra–Sydney interstate railway station meets Canberra’s public rapid transport services and the busy Canberra Avenue corridor, the area has been identified as being of strategic importance for urban growth and renewal.

The East Lake area was first identified for possible future urban intensification in the 2004 Canberra Spatial Plan. Since then, the Territory has undertaken a range of preliminary planning investigations in consultation with the community and key stakeholders.

East Lake is well-positioned to contribute to Canberra becoming a more compact and efficient city. The East Lake preliminary investigations and studies undertaken in consultation with the community and key stakeholders since 2004 have explored how the area could be renewed.

The planning and engagement outcomes from past engagements have formed a part of the information gathering for the future visioning of East Lake. This current engagement ensures we consider the needs of the community, which has changed in recent years with the development of Kingston Foreshore, and takes into account current policy settings.

As the ACT Government continues to work on many exciting urban renewal projects across Canberra, we are working hard to deliver a consolidated and coordinated engagement process between projects where possible. For example, the East Lake Place Plan and SLA Kingston Arts Precinct are both happening in the area.

The reform of the ACT planning system includes the development of district strategies, including an Inner South District Strategy. East Lake is identified as an area of change within the Inner South District Strategy. Planning for East Lake will be informed by the district strategy.