The RWA’s Concept Plan for North
Eveleigh, which will see 2,400 new residents and 3,270 employees
enter the area, went on public exhibition May 1 with an extended community
consultation window.
Commenting on an earlier version of the RWA’s plan, REDWatch
said plan density and building height could have been a lot worse for
residents.
“I think it’s great these buildings will retain some space
and some vistas for surrounding residents,” REDWatch’s Geoff
Turnbull said. “It could be seven or 10 times worse. It may
well be that people will end up happy with what ends up there.”
Building heights in the eastern part of the plans are to be
four to five storeys near existing residences on Cornwallis and Garden Streets,
and eight storeys closer to the train tracks.
Over on the west five- and four-storey residential buildings
will line Wilson Street,
with eight- and 12-storey buildings planned near the train tracks. [Text
corrected from print edition – REDWatch].
Over on the west eight- and 12-storey buildings will line Wilson Street, with
five- and four-storey residential buildings planned near the train tracks.
Arch planning scrutineer Mr Turnbull said there were some
concerns about the plans, mainly around parking, heritage and green
credentials.
“How parking will be handled in relation to CarriageWorks, which is currently an issue, is a
point of concern,” he said. “There are also no indications the RWA is going for
best practice for green credentials like Frasers are on the CUB site. We are
hoping for some improvement on that.”
Of the 181,000 square metres of floor space planned, more
than half will be residential (92,000 square metres) and there will be on-site
reuse of stormwater.
Just under 30% of floor space will comprise the adaptive
reuse of heritage buildings including the Paint Shop
in the east where four- and five-storey residential blocks and retail space are
to be created.
“It really is early days for the heritage side of things,”
Mr Turnbull said. “The Paint Shop is
potentially at risk with larger heights planned than the existing building
height.”
Welcoming the extension of community consultation by the RWA
from four to six weeks, Mr Turnbull said consultation by the RWA could have
been better.
“Certainly the RWA has improved some of the stuff that was
in the BEP,” Mr Turnbull said. “But we have this process where the exhibition
is the consultation. Quite often the stuff has been signed off before community
gets a look at it.”
CEO of the RWA Robert Domm
said the local community has had “at least three significant opportunities to
provide their input over North Eveleigh”.
“This is in addition to CarriageWorks,
Yaama Dhiyaan and the Blacksmiths’ workshop community markets which have all
undergone consultative processes,” he said.
Mr Domm said the RWA had sought extra time for the community
to digest the plans, including eight information sessions for the public up to
the final date for submissions on June 12.
Proceeds of the sale of North Eveleigh
are to be used for a million-dollar upgrade of Redfern train station and the
building of a pedestrian and cyclist bridge linking the ATP with Wilson Street.
The Concept Plan for North Eveleigh can be viewed www.redfernwaterloo.com.au or in
person at the City of Sydney Centre,
158 Redfern Street,
Redfern.
Image
Caption: Artist’s impression of transformed rail yards at North
Eveleigh
Source:
South Sydney Herald May 2008 www.southsydneyherald.com.au
[REDWatch Note – At the time of the interview REDWatch had not seen the Final Concept Plan and Model and had not developed a position on the Concept Plan].