{"id":918739,"date":"2026-10-06T23:36:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T23:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/918739\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T23:36:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T23:36:11","slug":"hawker-tennis-centres-future-remains-in-limbo-with-da-timeline-extended-yet-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/918739\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawker Tennis Centre’s future remains in limbo with DA timeline extended yet again"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"graffity<\/p>\n

The Hawker Tennis Centre saga continues with no development application submitted to improve the long-abandoned site. Photo: James Coleman.<\/p>\n

Canberrans are still no closer to finding out what could be built on the derelict Hawker Tennis Centre site,<\/a> as the latest development application submission deadline passed with no progress.<\/p>\n

The leaseholder was given until the end of September<\/a> to submit plans.<\/p>\n

An ACT Government spokesperson confirmed nothing had been submitted, but the deadline has been extended yet again.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2018, a development application (DA-201834626) was lodged for a new childcare centre and lease variation,\u201d they summarised.<\/p>\n

\u201cA request for an extension of time to complete the construction works was submitted to the Territory Planning Authority (the TPA), which granted the request to 1 September 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cA request for an extension of time to complete construction was made on 12 February 2026, which was not granted as the request was not made within time and the DA had expired.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, following demonstration of progress, the lessee has been given further time to lodge a development application.\u201d<\/p>\n

No further comment could be provided.<\/p>\n

The government and regulator have been coming under repeated fire for leaseholders apparently not being held to the conditions of their contracts.<\/p>\n

The use and effectiveness of controlled activity orders<\/a> \u2013 one of the regulator\u2019s only enforcement tools \u2013 is already the subject of an ongoing committee inquiry.<\/p>\n

Canberra Liberals Ginninderra MLA Peter Cain questioned how many chances a leaseholder could receive before there was serious intervention.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow many chances does [Planning Minister] Chris Steel give one developer?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo DAs expired without a shovel hitting the ground. Show Cause in February. An \u2018urgent\u2019 DA in March \u2026 [an extension to September]. September is over. Still no DA.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy have a Crown lease with conditions if the Planning Minister won\u2019t enforce them?<\/p>\n

\u201cChris Steel\u2019s problem is no longer that the developer won\u2019t meet his deadlines. It\u2019s that nobody appears to believe there is a consequence for ignoring him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Planning Minister can\u2019t impose lease conditions \u2013 that\u2019s a job for the Territory Planning Authority through Access Canberra.<\/p>\n

Its website said it exists to support the minister in fulfilling the requirements of the Planning Act 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to recognise that TPA decisions, such as those regarding leases and development applications, are statutory,\u201d it stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe TPA operates within the ACT Government but has distinct functions and responsibilities under the Planning Act 2023.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ACT Government promised in the lead-up to the 2024 election to investigate stronger powers for the Territory Planning Authority.<\/p>\n

Mr Steel previously said he expected the current review of the regulator\u2019s powers to lead to change.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The ACT Government] thinks there is a need to strengthen the powers available, particularly looking at an increased range of penalties available to the independent regulator to be able to enforce leases around the territory, particularly at unused shopping centre sites and recreational facilities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an important review and we expect it will lead to legislative reform that will be pursued by the government.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s understood the Hawker Tennis Centre lessee has engaged a certifier and consultant to help prepare and submit a new DA for the site.<\/p>\n

The government spokesperson said the lessee could apply for another assessable use for the land, other than a childcare centre.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny future DAs will be assessed by the Territory Planning Authority against the requirements of the Territory Plan and the Planning Act 2023,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

Make us preferred on Google<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Hawker Tennis Centre saga continues with no development application submitted to improve the long-abandoned site. Photo: James…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":918740,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[64,63,85,747],"class_list":["post-918739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=918739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/918740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=918739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=918739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=918739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}