A Master
Plan was approved by the then South Sydney
Council in late 2002 but was postponed while the Department of Housing sought a
private partner to help with the cost. They have now decided to proceed
independently while they continue that search.
The
Minister for Housing, Matt Brown, has announced that $27m will be spent on
demolishing the existing 106 apartments and replacing them with 40 family
terrace houses with small backyards and 66 units designed specifically for
seniors.
The western
side of the land parcel which is bounded by Elizabeth,
Phillip, Morehead and Kettle streets is expected to be sold to a developer who
will be allowed to construct 158 high rise dwellings for private sale.
“This new,
state-of-the-art development is great news for the people of Redfern,” says local
member for Heffron, Kristina Keneally.
The Sydney
City Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, also
welcomes the announcement but says, “I am concerned about the future of
existing tenants and keeping public housing in the inner city.”
The Housing
Minister has assured her that all of the current residents will be offered
alternative housing in the area and given the opportunity to return to the new
units on their completion.
Councillor
Tony Pooley, who was mayor of South Sydney at
the time the Master Plan was approved and a resident of Redfern, says the
existing public housing is in very poor condition.
“There is
no question that the accommodation has to be rebuilt,” he says. “The area was
originally swamp land, there are subsidence problems and the Department of
Housing is simply not able to keep up with the maintenance needed on the
units.”
Cr Pooley
is pleased that this model will see an overall increase in the number of
bedrooms originally planned and that taxpayers will be saved the $5m spent
every ten years on maintenance costs.
Long-term
Waterloo Department of Housing tenant, Ross Smith,
is more sceptical of the project outcomes for the Redfern residents. Mr Smith says
that while Department officers have spoken to many tenants on a house-by-house
basis, he is doubtful they will organise a general meeting where issues can be
aired publicly.
“We all
recognise the need for change but there should be genuine consultation between
the residents and the Department,” Mr Smith says. “Many of these people have
lived in this complex for three or four generations and while they have been
told they can return there is a ‘fishhook’ in the wording.
“In the
Minto redevelopment the change of unit sizes meant that the new housing was not
always ‘appropriate to their needs’ and some tenants had to move away from a
community which they had been part of for a long time.”
There is
also a concern that the proposal will allow different building standards for
the new private and public dwellings. The private section will be populated by
high-rises with greener common spaces and a more appealing streetscape,
according to Mr Smith.
“There is a
line drawn down the middle of the road with the disadvantaged on one side and
the wealthier on the other. This is not following State Government policy of
‘salt and peppering’ those in need of assisted housing into the general
community,” he says.
The South
Sydney PCYC, which occupies adjoining land owned by the Department of Housing,
will not be affected by the project. They have been offered a lengthy renewal
of their lease and a choice of relocating to the former Redfern Public School
site recently redeveloped by the Indigenous Land Council.
The problem
may be that if the need for repairs and ongoing maintenance forces the PCYC to
move from the immediate housing estate area, it may be difficult for many of
the youth it serves to follow.
Source:
South Sydney Herald June 2007 www.southsydneyherald.com.au/