The first green light has been given for the development of the first suburb shared by ACT and NSW.
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In April, Yass Valley Council was handed NSW planning approval to submit a proposal to rezone the area known as Parkwood, west of Belconnen.
The suburb extends from the ACT into a NSW peninsula of land bounded by the Murrumbidgee River and Ginninderra Falls.
At this stage, the area can only be accessed from the ACT as there is no bridge access into Yass Valley land.
Council's Director of Planning and Environmental Services Chris Berry said the main challenge was operating under the differing NSW and ACT laws and regulations.
“It’s not unusual because on the eastern side of Canberra, in Queanbeyan, they have had cross border areas over there. So some of the work has already been done in how we deal with physical infrastructure and social infrastructure.”
The new suburb will hold around 5000 properties in the Yass Valley and a further 6000 in the ACT.
He said the suburb will require basic services like schools and medical centres as well as the essential water and sewerage infrastructure.
Following the state government's initial approval, a meeting with the ACT Department of Planning was held yesterday, with developing representatives discussing cross border negotiations.
“Our feeling is that we need these discussions with senior decision makers from across the border to allow this to proceed to the next stage," Mr Berry added.
The 600-hectare site has previously been used as grazing land, and the remaining 206 hectares will stay undeveloped along the Murrumbidgee River, Ginninderra Creek and around Ginninderra Falls.
Construction is currently scheduled to start in 2024, with more than 25,000 people expected to eventually call Parkwood home. Of these, 13,000 will be Yass Valley residents.
Despite this, neither the ACT or NSW government's foresee infrastructure of a bridge to connect Parkwood and the rest of the Yass Valley in the future.
Mr Berry, however, is confident the development is a positive one, doubling the population and therefore doubling the ratepayers.