My Dream for NAC

by Clare Pascoe

AI generated dream of NAC

I originally bought land in NAC to use as a base and a bush retreat. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t foreseen the potential for it to be rezoned, but that was only ever an optional side benefit. The profit, to me, wasn’t in future development; it was in having an affordable place to stay.

But here we are, facing the strong likelihood that the area will be developed, one way or another. It’s too close to major facilities and cities, and too close to the water, to be left untouched, and the increasing expansion of the airport and the freeway makes it more and more attractive to develop.

So what kind of development do we choose? My guess is that many of the non-urban owners value the bushy situation and the seclusion. If we choose a commercially oriented development, like many housing estates springing up in the area, we’ll lose both those things. We’ll also lose the heritage value in the design that Walter and Marion Griffin left us.

My dream is for what I call a sustainable heritage village – one that saves the best of the Griffins’ design and combines it with modern zero-emissions technology. In doing so, it would have the potential to be a historical attraction and a model for larger-scale sustainable ventures. And if limits were set on the percentage of each lot that can be built on, it would ensure the bushy ambience remained, house sizes were capped, and the cost of housing was kept at affordable levels.

There would still be the “rich end of town”, so to speak – the large, million-dollar waterfront houses in the Village – but the current non-urban zone would develop a charming, cottage-like feel. The benefit to the current Village would be substantial; an injection of around 3-4000 new residents in the area would enable a village shopping precinct, a medical practice, better public transport, and perhaps a school.

I know that any form of residential development will eliminate the opportunity to camp on our blocks. But if it comes to development – and it will! – let’s choose the option that preserves as much as possible of what we currently have.