Save the Molonglo Valley

The Molonglo Valley is a hot spot of biodiversity. The ACT government is developing a whole new set of suburbs in Molonglo, with Coombs and Wright being the first ones developed.

The preliminary designs for these suburbs would appear to indicate that:

• Disappointingly, Coombs and Wright will not be the world's best practice as promoted by the ACT Government;
• The orientation of the street layout means that there will be only limited good solar access;
• The old-style estate design means that the suburbs will not be child-friendly, nor encourage social inclusiveness;
• There will be substantial impact upon the critically important Molonglo River corridor;
• The suburbs will definitely not be pedestrian friendly;
• The efforts to create ecologically-sensitive water management are minimal;
• The ACT Government has not ruled out the possibility of a major dam in the Molonglo which would flood the corridor; and,
• The limited opportunities being provided within the suburbs for recreational space will force enormous recreational pressure into the fragile Molonglo River Corridor.

The Molonglo River passing around the northern boundary of Coombs provides a critical natural corridor between the forested hills in the Brindabellas and the bush reserves of Black Mountain and Aranda. It is also home to the endangered Pink-tailed Worm Lizard, and various raptors including Peregrine Falcons and Wedge-tailed Eagles.

Reduced circumstances have meant that the Conservation Council has not been able to employ a full-time campaigner on biodiversity and planning issues. This is making it extremely difficult for us to effectively engage the Land Development Agency and ACTPLA in the design and roll-out of Molonglo's suburbs.