Next Meeting – 1 May Closure of the hydrotherapy pool at the Canberra Hospital and meet the Federal Candidates

The next Woden Valley Community Council meeting will be held at 7pm on Wednesday 1 May 2019 at the Woden Southern Cross Club.

The meeting will start with updates from Murrumbidgee MLAs.

We will then meet some of the candidates for the Federal election. With Woden being part of both Canberra (north of Hindmarsh Drive) and Bean (south of Hindmarsh Drive and the Town Centre) it is not clear how this will impact on the representation for Woden.  The candidates that have accepted our meeting invitation are primarily from Bean due to the Canberra candidates having already accepted invitations to other meetings.

The need for hydrotherapy services is growing however the hydrotherapy pool at the Canberra Hospital is due to close in June 2019. The therapeutic benefits of water have been used throughout history for people’s wellness. Warm water is soothing and calming, it relieves muscle tension and increases movement, reduces pain and promotes sleep.

Arthritis ACT currently use this pool around 20 hours a week.  The closure of the hydrotherapy pool at the Canberra Hospital creates two access issues:

1. the ability to access other facilities for 20 hours a week, and at what cost? There are also other users that will also require access to other pools (private pools can be expensive).
2. the distance, difficulty and cost to travel from the south of Canberra to the University Hospital, for example:
   • bus – it is likely 3 buses will be required (and two changes) to access the University Hospital, it will be time consuming and be particularly difficult for people with limited mobility.
   • taxi – it is likely that a taxi will cost around $50 each way.

If you would like the hydrotherapy pool at the Canberra Hospital to remain open until a new dedicated hydrotherapy pool is built on the south side of Canberra, sign the petition at:https://epetitions.act.gov.au/CurrentEPetitions.aspx

Geocon will then brief us on their proposed amendment to the Grand Central Towers at the Woden Bus Interchange. We note that the previous request to amend the development was rejected by the ACT Planning Directorate.

We encourage Woden residents to come along to provide your views and participate in conversations about the issues facing Woden.

Agenda 

1. 7pm Welcome and Apologies
2. Record of previous meetings
3. Chair’s Report
4. 5 minute update from MLAs
5. Presentations

• Meet some of the candidates for the Federal Election – primarily from Bean
• Closure of the hydrotherapy pool at the Canberra Hospital
  • Mrs Giulia Jones MLA
  • Ms Rebecca Davey, CEO Arthritis ACT
• Grand Central Towers – proposed amendments to the DA – Geocon

6. Other business

Next meeting of the WVCC — 7pm — Wednesday 5 June 2019