The Australian Capital Territory government will hold a competition to find ideas to transform Canberra’s City Hill from a “roundabout rabbit warren” into a city park attractive to people.
City Hill is a five-acre landscaped hill which was part of Marion Mahony and Walter Burley Griffin’s original Canberra vision, and which marks a corner of the Parliamentary Triangle.
The park doesn’t get a lot of use by Canberra residents and is in fact overrun with a rabbit infestation. Chief minister Andrew Barr revealed plans to launch the design competition for the park in budget estimates.
Barr has asked the City Renewal Authority team to begin work on “…reimagining the space as a city park rather than the centre of a roundabout rabbit warren and a place where there’s a flagpole.”
The City Renewal Authority’s website notes the ideas competition will be launched in 2024.
The authority says it will be seeking ideas to:
* Improve access to and through the park on City Hill
* Create a high-quality, attractive green space that can be used for public activities
* Incorporate social and environmentally sustainable practices in the new design
* Establish City Hill as a cultural destination, and
* Explore cultural connections with First Nations people.
Barr noted there were a number of significant developments underway near to City Hill, including the Canberra Theatre redevelopment, a planned entertainment pavilion, and a nearby light rail stop, which would make the site even more important to the city.
More information in City Hill is available at act.gov.au,