A proposed retirement village at the Federal Golf Club is nearing the end of a two-decade long attempt at its creation as it approaches the opening of the community consultation period.
It comes after the approval of the Territory Plan Variation in May which allowed a sub-lease of part of the green to a developer to build a 125-dwelling retirement village.
The development proposal seeks to improve the club's finances, and to aid in its water security for the future of the club, a statement from the club said.
The Federal Golf Club said the components of the proposal are needed for a number of reasons.
"The Federal Golf Club has long planned a retirement village within the course to ensure an ongoing incomes stream to undertake essential maintenance of its more than 80 hectares of publicly accessible open space," it said.
"There has been extensive consultation with club members, the local community, environmental groups and planning authorities since 2016 to develop an appropriate village which will deliver much needed age-appropriate housing for the area."
Alongside the retirement village partner Mbark, the Federal Golf Club is taking the project through its necessary steps to seek a concessional lease variation for around six hectares for the village, including seeking feedback on the plan.
The proposal "combine[s] a critical infrastructure package with a retirement village", it said.
It also transparently said it will provide the club with the finances it needs to "complete urgently required upgrades" to water security, while still retaining the 18-hole golf course.
The club said within the proposal they spend $2 million a year on maintaining the green space, "but we do not have the resources to survive another hot and dry summer".
"Federal has employed a range of efforts to reduce its reliance on tap water over the last 15 years, including changing turf types to more drought tolerant species and adding water storage basins," the proposal said.
"Despite this, the financial burden that our ongoing need for tap water has imposed means that we do not have the financial resources to survive another hot and dry summer.
"Our proposal will strengthen the club's financial position and increase its immunity to adverse weather patterns by combining a capital investment program to improve our water security and complemented by a broadening of our income streams."
The proposal will also increase the number of trees around the club, after the approval of the Territory Plan Variation also rezoned approximately 10 hectares of its land, considered of high ecological value, into the Red Hill Nature Reserve.
Chief executive of the Federal Golf Club Richard Bialkowski said he is happy the club has made this progress with the proposal.
"The Club is very pleased that the Territory Plan Variation has been approved and we can move to the next steps in preserving community enjoyment of the Federal Golf Course," he said.
"The course is a public access facility that provides recreational, social and health benefits to communities of all ages from all over Canberra.
"We encourage everyone interested to view the website and to participate in community engagement from 24 June to 5 August 2023."
The Federal Golf Club has submitted various development proposals since 1998 in attempts to bolster its financial standing.
The ACT Legislative Assembly called for a masterplan for Red Hill in October 2017 when initial plans for the 125-dwelling retirement village were revealed, off Gowrie Street.
It was the eighth proposal from the club at the time.
The club was sent back to the drawing board, with the government's draft masterplan designating land at the southern end of the course for the retirement village instead.
The Federal Golf Club has faced objections from both the Garran Residents' Association and the Hughes Residents' Association, where they made claims they had not been appropriately consulted before the Territory Plan Variations were made.
Their concerns included interrupting the preservation of green space, and the protection of the gang-gang cockatoos known to frequent the area.
