Mr Fluffy asbestos - heritage areas
12 January 2015
There has been some interest in and speculation about the implications of the ACT Government's policy in relation to loose fill asbestos contamination for heritage precincts, such as the village of Hall. As referenced below it is very clear that sub-division will NOT be an option in such areas.
The ACT Government has stated in its Newsletters, and a published policy document of the ACT Government Asbestos Response Taskforce, that the subdivision or unit titling of dual occupancy on blocks affected by Mr Fluffy asbestos, will not be pursued in heritage areas. The relevant documents are available at the website of the Taskforce.
At the website, you can refer to newsletters 15, 17 and 19. For example, Newsletter #15 of 28/10/2014 covers the point in response to Frequently Asked Questions numbers 39 and 40, as follows: "39. Will remediated land of these houses be rezoned by the ACT Government? The ACT Government will defray overall program costs through efficiency and cost containment in the demolition and remediation phase, and maximising returns on sale of remediated blocks. This principle underpins the Government's decision to provide for the unit-titling of dual occupancy development in RZ1 zones, and consider options for subdivision or consolidation of blocks where appropriate prior to resale. 40. What about in heritage areas? Blocks will not be rezoned in a heritage precinct, or where the particular characteristic of a block does not support it."
The FAQ responses in Newsletter #17 of 27/11/14 and Newsletter #19 of 22/12/14 follow the same line.
The policy document is "The ACT Government's Preferred Way Forward on Loose Fill Asbestos: Supporting Detail". It is an attachment to Newsletter #15 where the link is entitled "Policy Framework Final Supporting Detail". Page 26 of the Policy document includes the following text that is very similar to the FAQ responses above: "The ACT Government will defray the overall program costs through efficiency and cost containment in the demolition and remediation phase, and maximising returns on sale of remediated blocks. This principle underpins the Government's decision to provide for the unit-titling of dual occupancy development in RZ1 zones, and consider options for subdivision or consolidation of blocks where appropriate prior to resale...............The Environment and Planning Directorate has indicated most blocks larger than 700m2 are conducive to such development. Around 88% of affected blocks are larger than 700m2. This approach will not be adopted in heritage precincts, or where the particular characteristics of a block do not support it."
[information kindly supplied by Ken Heffernan]