Waterloo Overview January 2017
Land and
Housing Corporation’s (LAHC) Communities Plus will kick off the Master
Planning exercise probably in March. This is expected to create many
opportunities for people to comment on aspects of the Masterplan. This is on
top of the usual activity, projects and events that happen around the Waterloo
estate. The City of Sydney and the Department of Planning are finalising the
studies required as part of declaring the Waterloo Estate a State Significant
Precinct. The details of the studies have not yet been released. REDWatch has
requested the opportunity for community input into the briefs issued to
consultants working on the Waterloo redevelopment studies and we have been told
this will happen. Hopefully this provides some possibility of ensuring
community concerns and issues will be covered in the underlying studies.
The Waterloo
Neighbourhood Advisory Board (NAB) has set up a Waterloo Redevelopment Group
under its NAB structure. This group will be independently chaired and include
NAB reps, public tenants, representatives from local resident groups and
service providers. It will guide the communication and engagement activities
run by Family & Community Services throughout the life of the redevelopment
project. This group will meet on 3rd Wednesday of month from 2pm – 3.30pm. This
group is in addition to the usual NAB meeting of elected precinct
representatives and the NAB’s existing Redfern & Waterloo Events Group and
the Waterloo Wellbeing & Safety Action Group.
The
Groundswell Redfern Waterloo Agencies have been meeting monthly to push
for, and guide, community capacity building. During the 2011 Master Plan,
Groundswell also operated undertaking capacity building – this Groundswell Coalition
Facebook still operates from that time. The agencies currently
involved are South Sydney Community Aid, Counterpoint Community Services (The
Factory), Inner Sydney Voice, Redfern Legal Service, the Tenants Union and
Shelter NSW. Groundswell will guide NGO input into capacity building and other
activity around the Waterloo redevelopment. The interests of these agencies
briefly are:
- The Factory / Counterpoint Community Services
(CCS)– is funded for Laura Kelly’s role as Housing Communities Program
(HCP) Redfern Waterloo Community Development Worker. The Factory will also be
funded for a new 12 month Community Development Officer to work with the
community during the Master Planning. It is currently recruiting for this role.
You can see the details here. The Factory also provides a range of
services and facilitates groups working with and for Waterloo tenants. - Inner Sydney Voice (ISV) – is funded for
David White’s Tenants Participation Resource Service who handles elections and
training for NABs in our area and across Northern Sydney. It also has a
specialist HACC sector Development Officer and does capacity building for the
regional human services sector producing the ISV magazine such as the Winter 2016 – Redeveloping Public Housing. ISV
is being funded initially for a 6 month (3 day a week) Capacity Building Project Worker to work with
tenants and surrounding residents to help them better understand the Master
Plan and to participate in the discussion about what happens in their
community. ISV is currently recruiting for this position. You can see the
details here. ISV is also seeking funding to supply
residents with independent expert advice during the master planning process. It
may also be that the two new positions will be co-located with an Aboriginal
Community Development position appointed by LAHC. - Redfern Legal Service (RLC) – has received funding from City of Sydney to assist people facing
relocation. They have experience in doing this in Millers Point. Relocations
have now been pushed back in Waterloo to mid-2018. RLC continue to provide
tenancy legal support to people in Waterloo and will probably provide tenancy
training in the capacity building. - South Sydney Community Aid (SSCA) – is the local multicultural community centre
servicing the Waterloo estate. It is looking at how it can support the CALD
communities during the Master Plan discussion with specialist language and
cultural expertise. - Shelter NSW and the Tenant’s Union are statewide peaks so are not closely
involved on the ground in Waterloo but have immense experience in policy and
bring to the table knowledge of what has and is happening in other
redevelopments. They are working on broader issues of relevance to Waterloo and
will provide capacity-building expertise.
In the non-agency space there are
two local resident groups: REDWatch (REDW – Redfern Eveleigh Darlington and
Waterloo) and the Waterloo Public Housing Action Group (WPHAG).
REDWatch has a broader remit than Waterloo but it was
set up in 2004 to ensure the areas’ diverse communities are heard in
discussions with government about what happens in the area. We have been
working behind the scenes in discussions to seek clarification about what is
happening and to get better processes this time around. REDWatch’s involvement
will clarify as things unfold as it does not want to duplicate what others are
doing but it will bring to bear its previous experience in dealing with
capacity building and the last Master Plan in its involvement with communities,
committees and government. You can see information about the current and past
pushes for the redevelopment of the Waterloo public housing estate on Waterloo
Public Housing Renewal tab on the REDWatch website.
WPHAG was established by Richard Weeks and has been
active over the last year meeting with Minister Hazzard, bureaucrats, running a
petition, a tent embassy and trying to gain exposure for what is happening in
Waterloo. It meets weekly and attendance is open to anyone not just public
housing tenants. It has been active in pushing LAHC to address maintenance
issues. Among other things, WPHAG is seeking to ensure no one leaves Waterloo
unless they want to, that the high-rise are refurbished (re-blocked) rather
than pulled down, that there is no change to tenant leases in the transfer and
that LAHC retains ownership of all existing land. You find out more about them
at www.wphag.wordpress.com and www.facebook.com/wphagwaterloo or email the group at wphag.nsw@hotmail.com
#WeLiveHere2017 – was an early project initiated by
a local resident Clare Lewis. It was initially auspiced by Counterpoint
Community Services (The Factory) and worked with WPHTG – you can find more
details at www.welivehere2017.com.au. We Live Here list its current
projects as:
- Opinion hub: We’ve made a platform to capture
your ideas and concerns about the redevelopment plans for
Waterloo. - Story hub: We welcome people contributing
their Waterloo story to our Facebook page or Instagram, just hashtag #WeLiveHere2017 and
lets see who’s out there, and what you love about Waterloo. - Documentary: We are making a documentary
that explores and celebrates our neighbourhood stories. We are also
working with Matavai and Turanga Towers to create a community-powered light
sculpture in 2017. - Light project: Five hundred residents
will be given a coloured mood light for their window to express how they feel
about the changes before relocations begin.
A Community Master Plan – this is a proposal for a Community
Masterplan to run alongside the official Master Plan. The people involved in
this are talking to Academics, Architects and Planners about being involved in
this project. It could provide independent options to tenants through the Mater
Planning process. If you are interested in more information contact Joey Watson
joey.watson@pobox.com.
Turning Towers – Milk Crate Theatre – How can a community stay connected during a time of dramatic and rapid change? Join Milk Crate Theatre as they team up with Counterpoint Community Services and South Sydney Community Aid to create an original, interactive play inspired by the NSW Government plan to redevelop the inner city suburb of Waterloo. #Groundswell Everyone is welcome that is affected or interested in the Waterloo
redevelopment. For more information contact: Milk Crate Theatre (02) 9698 7133 OR mail@milkcratetheatre.com. Rehearsals Tuesday’s 10:30am – 12.30pm during February and March. Performance One:When: South Sydney Uniting Church, 56A Raglan St, Waterloo Tursday 30 March 6pm – 8pm and Performance Two:Where: Redfern Town Hall, 73 Pitt St Redfern Redfern Friday, 31 March 2:30pm – 5:30pm (Includes a Q&A Panel) If
you or someone you know or work with is affected or interested in the Waterloo
redevelopment they are welcome to be part of the creative development: DOWNLOAD FLYER HERE
This overview has been prepared by REDWatch on 30 January 2017. If you have any additions or changes for this overview please email mail@redwatch.org.au