Molonglo Valley

Molonglo Valley is the newest district of Canberra. The district is planned to consist of 13 suburbs containing 33,000 dwellings with an expected population of 73,000.

The first two suburbs currently under construction in Molonglo Valley are Wright and Coombs; they are named for poet, environmentalist and Aboriginal land rights advocate Judith Wright and prominent public servant and economist H. C. "Nugget" Coombs, the first Reserve Bank Governor. The next suburb planned, Sulman, is named for architect and town planner Sir John Sulman, whose work can be seen in Civic.

Coombs will be located on the south bank of the Molonglo River and north-east of John Gorton Drive (the Molonglo Valley North-South Arterial road). Wright lies further west, north of Duffy, and south-west of John Gorton Drive. Land for these suburbs was released in late May 2010.

Location

Molonglo Valley will be located to the north of Weston Creek and to the south Belconnen. It will be within close proximity of the city; just 5-10km from the Canberra CBD. By releasing land closer to the city, this will reduce urban sprawl in Canberra. However, the close proximity to the city will mean that the land will be in high demand and is therefore likely to be quite expensive.

Prior to 2003, the land was used for pine forests, however these forests were burnt down by the 2003 Canberra bushfires. This left the land empty and ready for potential development.

It is also hoped that the Molonglo Valley will act as a link between the town centres of Weston Creek to the south and Belconnen to the north.

External links

• Molonglo Valley web site