North Eveleigh is bounded by Wilson Street to the north, the Inner
West railway corridor to the south, Iverys
Lane to the west and residential development to
the east fronting Little Eveleigh Street.
Existing
characteristics
The North Eveleigh site is located within 50 metres of
Redfern Railway Station. It comprises 11 hectares of redundant railway land
physically disconnected from surrounding residential development, Redfern
Railway Station, the University
of Sydney and employment
activity at the ATP. The site is poorly linked to the arterial road systems.
Vehicular access to the site is provided via Wilson Street. Pedestrian and cycle
access into the site is limited.
In
past decades North Eveleigh was a hive of
employment activity and railway operations. Today the site is predominantly
used for storage of railway items and infrastructure and is largely inactive.
There are a number of heritage items located on the site, many of which are in
a state of disrepair.
In
2004 development consent was granted for the redevelopment of the Carriage
Workshop building as a Contemporary Performing Arts facility for the NSW
Ministry of the Arts. Work on the redevelopment has commenced.
It is
envisaged that the redevelopment will provide the catalyst for regeneration of
activity and provide the anchor for the establishment of other compatible
development on the site.
The
industrial character of the site is reflected in its built form and railway
infrastructure. The general block configuration of the site reflects its
industrial history. The site presents a blank and inactive frontage to Wilson Street and
there is a considerable grade differentiation of some 5 metres from Wilson Street. Existing
views are limited to glimpses on street alignments.
The
majority of the site is likely to be contaminated and the capacity of existing
utility services is constrained. These constraints can be overcome with
remediation and augmentation of existing services.
Land
extending along the southern boundary adjacent to the Inner West railway
corridor will be retained by RailCorp for rail access and maintenance, and
other rail related infrastructure.
The
proposed McDonaldtown Stabling site is located directly south-west of the site.
This proposal is an important component of the Railways Clearways Program,
which is intended to improve the reliability and capacity of the rail network
within the metropolitan area. The location of rail related facilities must be
considered in the design of future development at North
Eveleigh in order to maximise amenity, while ensuring the
continued operation of rail related activities.
Existing
land use zone
North Eveleigh is zoned ‘Railways’ under SREP 26.
The objectives of the ‘Railways Zone’ are to:
• provide for the
ongoing day-to day operational activities of the SRA, Freight Rail Corporation
and Rail Access Corporation, and
• ensure that uses
within the zone do not detrimentally impact on the use of adjoining land, and
• provide for community
facilities within and public access across the zone.
Only
land uses that are consistent with the above objectives are permissible within
the Railway Zone. As such permissible uses are largely restricted to railway
related activities.
Proposed
land use concept
Create
a vibrant cultural, business and residential precinct that provides jobs,
quality housing, services and facilities and opportunities for artistic and
cultural expression. Encourage employment generating uses to maximise proximity
to Redfern Railway Station. Encourage residential development on the southern
portion of the site, cultural and community uses in the middle of the site and
a mix of residential and non residential development at the northern end.
Diagram
4.3 [764KB] illustrates
the proposed land use concept for the site.
Proposed
design concept
Maximise
accessibility to and within the site by:
• providing a secondary
east/west vehicular, pedestrian, cycle network through the site
• creating new
vehicular, pedestrian, cycle entry points from Wilson Street
• creating a pedestrian
and cycle link on the north-east of the site to connect the site to Redfern
Railway Station, Redfern Street,
and the north of the ATP
• investigating options
for a potential tunnel connection between North Eveleigh and the ATP to improve
access to the University of Sydney and link the site with the ATP, South
Eveleigh and Henderson Road.
Protect
the heritage and industrial character of the site by:
• ensuring new
development responds sensitively to significant heritage items
• where practical, the
adaptive re-use of significant heritage buildings, associated with the former
industrial railway uses
• considering the
historical block configuration of the site
• encouraging the
reinterpretation of heritage through the reuse of heritage materials and fabric
in any redevelopment
• encouraging retention
of views to significant heritage items.
Respect
the industrial character on the site while providing an appropriate interface
to the residential and mixed use character of the surrounding area by:
• ensuring that
development along Wilson Street and Iverys Lane responds to the smaller
development parcels that characterise these streets
• locating larger
parcels towards the centre of the site and the railway corridor
• ensuring development
along Wilson Street and Iverys Lane responds to the predominant terrace house
typology within the area with a contemporary architectural interpretation
• ensuring that the
architectural character of new development responds to the industrial character
of the site
• ensuring development
along Iverys Lane
is setback to minimise overlooking of existing residential development on the
opposite side of the Lane
• providing lower to
medium rise building heights along the perimeter of the site to respond to
adjacent residential buildings
• increasing building
heights toward the centre of the site and adjacent to the railway corridor with
medium to high rise development.
Provide
for the development of a landmark building at the northern part of the site
near Redfern Railway Station.
Ensure
the provision of quality open space:
• within and around new
development parcels for private and communal use
• for all new dwellings
• adjacent to active
uses to enable surveillance and maximise the safety and security of spaces
• that has good solar
access
• that is appropriately
designed and landscaped with plantings, paving, lighting and benches and
furniture.
Ensure
that new development is designed and located to minimise acoustic impacts from
the railway corridor and rail related activities, in particular the proposed
McDonaldtown Stabling facility.
The
proposed heights and floor space ratio for the site are illustrated in Diagram
4.4 [817KB].
Proposed
land use zoning
Business
Zone – Mixed use
Special
Purpose Zone – Infrastructure