Landscaping & Earthmoving Belconnen

The ACT Government’s Belconnen District Strategy places the district in Canberra’s north-west, with the University of Canberra and the Australian Institute of Sport among its institutions. It is served by one town centre, five group centres and 24 local centres.

Suburbs named in the strategy include Bruce, Charnwood, Evatt, Florey, Fraser, Hawker, Higgins, Holt, Lawson, Macgregor, Macquarie, McKellar, Scullin, Spence and Weetangera, as well as Kaleen. New building is focused on infill around the town centre, the second stage of Lawson and the Ginninderry estates in the west.

The strategy notes that Belconnen performs well for tree canopy, with more cover in the established suburbs than the newer ones, and that larger blocks leave room for trees. In practice, that splits the work in two. Older yards bring big trees, settled clay and walls that have done their time. Newer blocks start bare and need levels set before a garden can go in.

Walls built decades ago often reach the end of their life, and our retaining walls page covers the options. Where clay holds water after rain, drainage excavation moves it away from the house and lawn.

On a new block in Strathnairn or Macnamara, the first task is usually setting levels and fall so water runs off, then paths and walls, then turf and planting. In the older suburbs the brief is more often renewal: lifting tired paving, opening up overgrown beds and replacing lawn that shade and compacted ground have thinned. Both kinds of job can be planned in one visit.

• Our guide to clay soil drainage looks at waterlogging in suburbs such as Kaleen, Bruce and Macnamara, and the fixes that suit each.
• The Kaleen retaining wall article covers the warning signs, material choices and the approval questions to ask before replacing a wall.
• Preparing ground for turf or paving starts with bobcat grading, and that post explains how it deals with clay and sloping blocks.

You deal with one dedicated project manager throughout, from the first look at the site to the final tidy-up.