Geocon Phillip pool redesign approved, Icon Water sign-off needed

The ACT’s Territory Planning Authority has approved an amendment to the stage one development application for Geocon’s Phillip pool and ice skating site, the Canberra Times reported on 29 October 2026, but construction cannot begin until Geocon secures sign-off from Icon Water on its water and sewerage concerns.

Geocon lodged the amendment in July 2026, seeking a structural redesign of the basement levels, combining the pool and cafe reception areas and shifting the position of the pool roof and skylight. The original stage one DA, approved in December 2025, covers two 13-storey residential towers with 286 units, a cafe and an aquatic facility built around a 25-metre indoor lap pool.

Why it matters

Icon Water’s assessment of the amended design found it did not comply with the utility’s water and sewerage network protection requirements. Rather than refusing the amendment outright, the authority approved it with conditions, describing the issue as procedural rather than a matter of design and siting. That puts the compliance burden on Geocon to resolve before works can proceed, rather than stalling the approval itself. Icon Water said its role is to ensure construction does not damage essential infrastructure, adding that it does not approve developments. That distinction matters on ACT blocks, where separate authority and utility sign-offs can land at different times and each can gate the start of works.

The numbers

• Stage one units: 286
• Stage one towers: two, 13 storeys each
• Total site units planned: 696

What’s next

No construction can start until Geocon obtains a Statement of Acceptance or Endorsement from Icon Water, and the authority’s conditions require the developer to address and comply with any further requirements the utility imposes. Geocon also needs a lease variation before any demolition or building work begins on the amended basement and pool design.

Applications for stages two and three of the 696-unit site have not yet been lodged. The pool sign-off comes weeks after the ACT government passed its missing middle housing bill, another ACT planning change developers are watching for how authority conditions get applied in practice. Separately, the ACT Integrity Commission is investigating changes to the Territory Plan that allowed the development’s 25-metre pool to replace the site’s existing 50-metre pool, though the authority says there is no requirement to pause the current application while that inquiry continues. Sarah Ransom, spokeswoman for the Save Phillip Pool Community group, questioned whether the ACT government is “leaving itself open to legal action” if work proceeds during the investigation.