The Former Redfern
Public School is located
at 160-202 George Street,
Redfern. The site is bounded by residential development to the north, Phillip Street to
the south, George Street
to the east and Cope Street
to the west.
Existing
characteristics
The
site has an area of 1.6 hectares of land and is dissected by Renwick Street, extending north south
through the centre of the site. Five former school buildings occupy the site.
The two storey Victorian Buildings on the site are listed as items of local
heritage significance under South Sydney Local Environmental Plan. The
school site includes a playing field on its western boundary at Cope Street and a
car park on its northern boundary.
The
Murawina Child Care Centre operates
from one of the school buildings. The majority of the site is not used and
access to the playing fields, once used by pupils has been boarded up.
The
site is located within a landscaped setting surrounded by terrace houses to the
east, Department of Housing towers to the south and mixed use medium density
development to the west. Some of the buildings on Phillip Street have graffiti and are
vandalised.
Renwick Street terminates as a
vehicular link at the northern end of the site and continues to Phillip Street as a
pedestrian/cycle link. The amenity and safety of this link can be improved.
The
site and existing school buildings provide an important view termination from
the south.
Existing
land use zone
The
site is currently zoned ‘Special Uses – School’ under the South Sydney Local
Environmental Plan. Permissible uses within the zone are restricted to
schools and supporting uses, as well as permissible uses in adjacent zones (in this
case mixed use and residential zones).
Proposed
land uses concept
Community,
recreational and educational uses. Permit serviced apartments, hotel
accommodation, hostel, motel and other accommodation related or ancillary to
community, recreational or educational purposes.
Diagram
4.15 [455 KB] illustrates
the proposed land use concept for the site.
Proposed
design concept
Respect
the character and built form of the site and provide an appropriate interface
to surrounding development by:
• ensuring development
responds to the scale, form and design of surrounding development
• ensuring the height of
new development provides a transition between the lower scale terrace housing
to the north and east, the medium scale mixed use development to the west and
tower development to the south on Phillip Street
• ensuring development
responds to the smaller lot sizes and widths that are characteristic of
adjacent terrace house development.
Protect
the heritage of the site by:
• ensuring new
development responds sensitively to significant heritage items
• encouraging, where
practical, the adaptive re-use of significant heritage items associated with
the former school use
• encouraging the
reinterpretation of heritage through the reuse of heritage materials and fabric
in any redevelopment.
Maximise
accessibility to and within the site by:
• providing a new east
west vehicle, pedestrian and cycle link between Cope Street and George Street
• extending Renwick Street
through to Phillip Street
• creating new
vehicular, pedestrian and cycle entry points from Cope Street, Phillip Street and Renwick Street.
Ensure
the provision of open space:
• as part of any new
development for the use by future occupants of the site
• around buildings to
enhance the visual setting of the site
• for the existing
childcare centre
• that is appropriately
designed, sized and landscaped for its intended purpose
• that has good solar
access.
Improve
safety and security for future occupants of the site, surrounding development
and pedestrians by:
• ensuring active uses
adjoin and overlook existing and new open space and pedestrian links to
maximise surveillance
• ensuring new
development provides active non–residential uses along ground level street
frontages to improve passive surveillance
• ensuring appropriate
landscaping, lighting and good design of civic spaces, streets and pedestrian
paths.
Protect
local views to and through the site.
The
proposed heights and floor space for the site are illustrated in Diagram
4.16 [462 KB].
Proposed
land use zone
Special
Purpose Zone – Community