Margaret Timpson Park and the Belconnen Library need to be opened up, better lit, and made into a safe place to congregate day or night. These spaces need to be clean, friendly, modern and welcoming.
Fixing this should be a top priority.
Margaret Timpson should be a mixed use space that would suit outdoor lunch and picnics for nearby workers and families. The space should be able to facilitate festivals and public performances, and have an all-abilities playground to encourage more families (particularly those living in nearby apartments) to make better use of the space.
Better physical and sound separation, such as a hedge or additional trees, should be planted to increase the separation from Benjamin Way and make it safer for kids to play. There are 2 grass pyramids which were intended to have flowers planted on it at selected times of the year, but this doesn’t happen. These pyramids make it difficult for the space to be used for large gatherings, and should be removed.
The Belconnen library exterior is run down, uninviting and unsafe. It should be either moved to where the remand centre is, or be completely redeveloped and opened up as part of a broader Swanson Plaza revamp.