The NSW Premier has given the green light for negotiations to start between the ACT and NSW about expanding the border in Canberra's north.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said he has been contacted directly by Dominic Perrottet who has indicated in-principle support for the expansion of the territory's borders.
Officials from the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet and the ACT's Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate have entered into discussions about the possible shift of the border.
The ACT government has long pushed for the territory border to be expanded in the north-west to incorporate the Parkwood land, which is in NSW and is part of the Yass Valley Council.
Parkwood will form part of the ACT government's joint venture Ginninderry development, in west Belconnen.
The territory made moves to shore up its plans last year when the government bought two blocks in NSW.
Mr Barr wrote to the NSW Premier in October 2021 asking for renewed discussions on shifting the territory's border.
Mr Perrottet only gave the go-ahead for discussions to start last month, as revealed in an answer to a question on notice.
Mr Barr said he was hopeful of reaching an agreement with NSW but said the formal process would take time and would require amendments to legislation.
"The current master plan for Ginninderry indicates the development will not reach the NSW border until 2032, so there is plenty of time," he said.
Mr Barr said the ACT government had provided advice to officials in the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet about the matter.
Legislation was changed last year to allow the territory government's Suburban Land Agency the legal capacity to buy land in NSW.
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The territory government reached an agreement with two landholders in NSW to purchase two blocks last December. The Suburban Land Agency paid more than $8 million for one of the rural blocks on Parkwood Road and a call-in option deed was placed on the other block.
But the ACT government has plans to purchase an additional two blocks in NSW for the Ginninderry development.
The ACT government entered into a joint venture with Riverview in 2016 to develop Ginninderry. Riverview is a subsidiary of the Corkhill Brothers group.
The group owned land on both sides of the border but under the agreement, Riverview retained ownership of the land it held in NSW but its land in the ACT was sold to territory government for $4.5 million.
There are expected to be about 30,000 residents and 11,500 homes across four suburbs. The development would span about 1600 hectares across the ACT and NSW with homes to be built on about 800 hectares.
The NSW Parkwood land was rezoned in 2020 to allow for the development of 5000 homes for about 13,000 residents but the NSW land will not be developed for about another decade.
The ACT Audit Office was critical of the government's handling of the cross-border expansion plans in a report released earlier this year.
The report criticised the lack of public and community reporting by the ACT government for the cross-border development.
The audit also recommended the Chief Minister's directorate review and revise a 2017 planning report for proposed services and infrastructure at Parkwood.
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Lucy Bladen has been a journalist at The Canberra Times since 2019. She is an ACT politics and health reporter. Email: l.bladen@canberratimes.com.au
Lucy Bladen has been a journalist at The Canberra Times since 2019. She is an ACT politics and health reporter. Email: l.bladen@canberratimes.com.au
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