How you had YourSay:

Thank you for sharing your ideas on the proposal to redevelop a Housing ACT site in Cooksey Place, Florey. An Engagement Report and Comments Chart have been prepared, capturing what we heard with an analysis of your comments, feedback and ideas.

The community had the opportunity to have their say by:

• sharing comments on YourSay
• emailing us
• Talking to us onsite

What we are looking at:

Housing ACT is proposing to replace the aged 3-bedroom dwelling previously located at 7 Cooksey Place in Florey, with a view to develop a Class C Adaptable house on the site. Adaptable housing ensures that people of all ages and abilities can live within the home and it can be easily adapted to meet changing household needs without requiring costly or substantial modifications. This is part of the ongoing commitment to revitalise the public housing portfolio.

As this is a large block, Housing ACT is proposing to construct a new 5-bedroom dwelling, built to Class C Adaptable standards. The dwelling will be used to provide long-term supported care for people with mental health needs. One of the bedrooms will be allocated to a support worker who will provide 24 hour support/care for the residents. In addition, the residents of the house will receive a range of services from a community based organisation that are designed to improve their life skills and capacity to look after themselves.

The new home will comprise a meeting room, separate living and family areas, and double garage with driveway access of Cooksey Place. There are a number of large trees on the site which will be retained where possible.

The proposed development is in close proximity to local shops and public transport options available along Krefft Street.

The accessibility of the site and opportunities for tenants to walk to the nearby shops and transport will provide people with the opportunity to get involved and participate in their local community.

The houses will be built to a 6 star energy efficiency rating which means that it will be cheaper to run.

We are using your views to:

Your feedback will be used to help inform the development of this site.

By redeveloping properties, we ensure safe, affordable and secure housing choices are in place for everyone.

We want to hear your ideas on the proposed redevelopment of 7 Cooksey Place, Florey.

Before making a comment, check the site plans and FAQs for more information on Public Housing and why we want to redevelop.

Our commitment

Housing ACT is committed to providing public housing across Canberra, to build communities that are diverse and vibrant that enable people to achieve positive social and economic outcomes.

We are committed to collaborating with the community, to build neighbourhoods that are inclusive and welcoming, that offer safe and affordable housing to those who need it most.

What we do and why

Housing ACT provides tenants with safe, affordable and appropriate housing in a sustainable social environment. We provide housing to those Canberrans most in need including people in extreme financial hardship who are unable to find accommodation elsewhere.

Public housing makes up about 8% of all housing in the ACT.

• 25% is located in Belconnen
• 18% is located in Woden and the inner south
• 23% is located in the inner north
• 21% is located in Tuggeranong

Shape and scale of the Development

New developments will be modern, energy efficient and include a mix of sizes to suit different tenant requirements, including properties that can be adapted in the future, to enable tenants to age in place.

The buildings will be built to a 6 star energy efficiency rating which means they will be cheaper to run.

A variety of materials and building features will be used, along with existing vegetation to blend the development into the streetscape. The scale and form of the new houses will be in scale with the neighbouring buildings.

Who are our tenants?

Public housing tenants include a broad range of people including a high proportion of older people (approximately 26% are aged over 65 years), women (64%), as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and people with disability (63% of our tenants access the disability support pension).

Approximately 75% of our tenants live in single person or single parent households. About 27% of our tenants are children under the age of 15 years.

Some of our tenants stay in public housing for only a short period of time, until they can ‘get back on their feet’. Others stay in public housing longer-term.

The range of our tenants means that the housing we provide needs to be diverse to meet the needs of different people. We provide family homes, single-person apartments, accessible housing and housing that is close to essential services such as medical services and public transport.

Building better housing

Redeveloping our properties allows us to ensure that safe, affordable and secure housing is made available for vulnerable Canberrans who need it – now – and into the future.

More than 70% of our housing stock was built before the 1990’s, therefore building new public housing and redeveloping existing public housing allows us to replace older stock with modern, more contemporary designed buildings with improved energy efficiency.

It enables us to apply a ‘salt and pepper’ approach to development to reduce concentrations of disadvantage, and build well-designed dwellings that look and feel like other housing in the neighbourhood.

Delivering public housing close to essential services helps to ensure that the varied support needs of tenants can be accommodated and it is an important step in supporting some of our community’s most vulnerable people.

Housing ACT looks to the following principles when designing new public housing:

• Quality design – consistent with the existing and future character of the suburb
• Transparent, honest and open communication with the surrounding tenants and community.
• Liveable design – a more flexible, easy to access and navigate, liveable space, designed to have a positive impact on tenants and the neighbourhood
• Design that enhances the streetscape
• Design that aims to promote a sense of pride for tenants, harnessing a supportive community for both the tenants and the wider community, ensuring that tenants feel safe and comfortable within the new housing development