The
conservation manager of National Trust NSW, Jackie Goddard, said the State
Government’s redevelopment plan, which it released on Thursday, threatened to
destroy historic parts of Redfern and damage the suburb’s unique character.
The plan
earmarks disused railway land for residential, cultural and commercial
development and includes the complete transformation of Redfern Station.
The Redfern
Waterloo Authority, the body in charge of the project, is not obliged to adhere
to heritage orders because it has powers to override the Heritage Act.
Ms Goddard
said the trust was particularly concerned about the fate of the railway yards,
tracks and warehouses in North Eveleigh, most of which date from 1887.
“We
have been lobbying for a long time to retain the Railway Heritage Group’s
storage and workshop facilities and this wipes them out completely,” Ms
Goddard said.
“It
also wipes out the fan of tracks that comes into the workshops area.”
Ms Goddard
said the plan, which aims to revitalise the area by bringing in 18,000 jobs and
4000 new residents in the next 10 years, failed to take into account Redfern’s
strong history of railway activity.
Any
development should contain reminders of the site’s past, she said.
“The
whole area was built to house workers at Eveleigh, so if you don’t have
Eveleigh what have you got?”
Ms Goddard
said the Government’s plans for Redfern Station put the suburb’s unique
character under threat.
The station
dates from the 1870s and was the site of the first double-decker tram trip in
1879. “When you look at the drawings for the railway station there’s no
sign of the history or place at all,” she said.
“The
concept drawings have missed that basic sense of place which is so important
for everybody, particularly the Aboriginal community who have a very strong
sense of attachment to place.”
The trust
would seek to meet the authority to discuss their concerns, she said.
The deputy
Lord Mayor of Sydney, Labor’s Verity Firth, also spoke out against the plan.
Cr Firth
said the decision by the Planning Minister, Frank Sartor, to rezone the Block
for commercial use was “regrettable” and should be reversed.
The
rezoning kills off the Aboriginal Housing Company’s proposal to build 62 houses
on the Block.
“With
one stroke of the pen this innovative development has seemingly been
abandoned,” she said.
The release
of the plan comes one week after City of Sydney
council lodged a development application for the demolition of the Redfern Oval
grandstand.
The move
follows a controversial decision in November to turn the site into a public
sportsground.
The
resolution angered fans of South Sydney
football club and the local Police and Community Youth Club, who wanted to
replace the grandstand with a larger stadium and a commercial development.