Providing engineering consulting services for the creation of two major estates in Canberra’s southwest

North Coombs and North Wright Residential Estates

Following our work on the original Coombs and Wright estates in Canberra, the Suburban Land Authority (SLA) asked us to provide engineering consulting services for the development of the North Coombs and North Wright residential estates.

Our design team prepared the estate layout and master planned the two suburbs together as both are dependent of each other in terms of site servicing. We then developed separate estate development plans (EDPs) for each site to be able to develop them independently of one another. The EDPs included subdivision and block layout, services master planning, road design, and active travel. Water sensitive urban design played a significant role in the design due to the proximity of the sites to the Molonglo River corridor.

Challenges during the design also included steep topography and constraints around existing services, particularly the twin bulk watermains—900 and 1,200 millimetres (35 and 47 inches) in diameter—running across the site, which limited works in and around the mains. The site also contained environmentally sensitive habitats for the pink-tailed worm-lizard, which we successfully negotiated to achieve the desired size of the development while protecting and preserving the habitats. We also provided detailed design for the two estates including tender documentation and construction support.

Covering approximately 59 hectares (146 acres), the estates contain 284 residential blocks, 11 multiunit sites, and space for a primary school.