4.7 Former Local Court House and Redfern Police Station
The former Local Court House and Police Station site is located
at 103 Redfern Street.
The site is bounded by Redfern
Street to the north, Turner Street to the south, and retail
and residential uses to the east and west.
Existing
characteristics
The site is approximately 0.25 hectares in area and is
occupied by the former Court House and Redfern Police Station buildings. The
Local Court House building fronts Redfern
Street and is identified as a heritage item in the
South Sydney Local Environmental Plan. It is a significant building element in
the Redfern Street
streetscape. Access to an existing laneway on the western boundary of the site
is closed.
Both the Local Court House and the Police Station buildings
are currently vacant. As a result they do not contribute to the activation of
either Redfern or Turner Streets. The Court House is an iconic building in Redfern Street and
sits in the streetscape with a number of other important public buildings.
To the rear of the site is the Police Station Building,
which comprises 2 storeys and is accessed via Turner Street. The building does not
warrant retention.
A group of terrace houses are located south of the site on
the opposite side of Turner Street.
Redfern Street
is characterised by retail and commercial uses.
Existing land use
zone
The site is zoned ‘Special Uses – Police’ under the South
Sydney LEP. Permissible uses in the zone are limited to a Police Station, as
well as permissible uses in adjacent zones (in this case residential and
business zones).
Proposed land use
concept
Predominantly business and community uses (such as a
community health facility) in the former Local Court House building and Police
Station.
Diagram 4.13 (pdf ~421kb) illustrates the proposed land use concept for
the site.
Proposed design
concept
Respond to character and built form of surrounding
development with transition from 3 storeys along Turner Street up to 6 storeys.
Protect the heritage of the site by:
- identifying
heritage items on the site in accordance with the Heritage Strategy in
Section 3.5 - retaining
the former Local Court House building and facilitating its adaptive reuse
in a manner that is sensitive to the existing structure and its heritage
significance - ensuring
that new car parking is below ground level - ensuring
new development to the rear of the site responds to the heritage
significance of the former Local Court House - ensuring
that the form and massing of new development at the rear of the site does
not visually dominate the former Local Court House as viewed from Redfern Street - providing
adequate separation between the former Court House and new development at
the rear.
Activate the public domain and site frontages to Redfern Street and Turner Street by:
- retaining
and reinterpreting the former Local Court House forecourt area along Redfern Street
and its importance as a formal setting for the building - reinforcing
the original building entry area with appropriate landscape design,
lighting and materials - building
to the street boundary along Turner
Street to reinforce the existing built form
and provide surveillance to the street - discourage
blank facades and extensive car parking entry and servicing areas along
public streets.
The provision and configuration of open space is to:
- be
in accordance with the Open Space and Public Domain Strategy in Section
3.3 - provide
a high level of residential amenity for new developments by providing
adequate private and communal open space within and around new development
sites - be
located and designed to achieve a high level of privacy and separation
between dwellings - be
provided for in all new dwellings - be
adjacent to active uses to enable surveillance and maximise the safety and
security of open spaces - have
good solar access - be
appropriately designed and landscaped with planting, paving, lighting,
benches, and furniture.
The proposed heights and floor space ratio for the site are
illustrated in Diagram 4.14 (pdf ~447kb) .
Proposed land use
zone
- Business
Zone – Local Centre