“City of Cities – A Plan for Sydney’s
Future” is the final component of the Metropolitan Strategy, the NSW
Government’s 25 year plan for Sydney. It was released
on 4th December 2005 and we are sure there will be much media
coverage in the lead up to Christmas about what it proposes for shaping Sydney towards 2031.
The word Redfern occurs six times in the full document (four
with Waterloo
and twice when referring to the Railway Station). These references are not the
sum total of what refers to Redfern Waterloo. There are a few other terms that
you will need to know to work out how the strategy might relate to the future
of Redfern Waterloo.
Redfern Waterloo is classed as part of “Global Sydney”. “Global Sydney” is made up of North Sydney,
the Sydney CBD and a number of inner city precincts.
Redfern Waterloo is one of the “city knowledge
precincts”. The metro Strategy states these “include the Redfern–Waterloo
area and incorporate the Australian Technology Park, Sydney University, Royal
Prince Alfred Hospital, University of Technology Sydney and Sydney Institute of
Technology” as “major activity precincts for education, research and technology
based jobs.” [Page 296]
“Global Sydney” is at the
centre of the “Global Economic Corridor” or Sydney’s “Global Arc”. This corridor
refers to “the
concentration of linked jobs and gateway infrastructure from Macquarie Park
through Chatswood, St Leonards, North Sydney and the CBD to Sydney Airport and
Port Botany” [Page 33]
Green Square is one of three planned Major
Centres Locations for shopping and services in identified residential growth areas.
The number of people employed there is planned to go from 5,827 in 2001 to
14,000 in 2013. [Page 95].
So when the Metro Strategy talks about “Global Sydney”, “city knowledge
pecincts”, “Global Economic Corridor” and “Global Arc” it might also be talking
about Redfern Waterloo!
The specific mentions of Redfern Waterloo were:
- In Sydney City and the global economic
corridor, there are documented capacity constraints. The Government will
ensure there are sufficient strategic sites available and infrastructure
capacity to support the growth of these commercial office markets,
particularly in North Sydney, Sydney
City, East Darling
Harbour, City South,
Redfern and at rail stations in the City to Airport Corridor.[Page 103] - The
Government will expect agencies proposing renewal to assess the
affordability of housing in an area proposed for renewal and adjoining
areas. These agencies may be the local government that is proposing
rezoning to higher densities, the Department of Housing, the Department of
Planning in strategic centres, Landcom or other agencies such as the
Redfern Waterloo Authority and the Sydney Olympic Park Authority.[Page
146] - As part
of the Redfern Waterloo Authority’s work, Redfern station will be
investigated for upgrading to provide better services for this
redeveloping area.[Page 177] - The
CBD–Airport corridor already has a very high level of transport activity
within it, with major flows of people and goods to and from the CBD, the
Airport and Port Botany, all of which are expected to continue to grow
significantly. Major growth in dwellings and employment in
Redfern-Waterloo, Green Square
and Mascot will add a further challenge to the transport task. A key
challenge will be managing the impacts of transport investment needed to
enhance the corridor’s economic efficiency on the communities within it.
There has been much investment in road and rail systems serving
north–south movements. As the corridor grows and changes, transport
constraints increasingly will occur in systems serving east-west trips. Major
transport works underway include bus priority measures in the CBD; Rail
Clearways; arterial road improvements; and negotiations with Sydney
Airport Corporation regarding transport to support its proposed expansion
of the Airport.[Page 197] - The city knowledge precincts which include the Redfern–Waterloo
area and incorporate the Australian Technology Park, Sydney University,
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, University of Technology Sydney and Sydney
Institute of Technology, are major activity precincts for education,
research and technology based jobs.[Page 296]
The “City of Cities – A Plan for Sydney’s Future” can be read on the web, downloaded
in sections, requested on CD or is also in printed form.
We have assembled all the current links to the various documents and
also taken some extracts that relate to issues of concern to Redfern Waterloo
for those that want a quick scan of some of the issues.