This section provides an overview of the social, economic
and environmental context, and characteristics of the Redfern-Waterloo area. It
recognises the area’s assets, highlights issues to be addressed and the need
for revitalisation. The opportunities identified in this section are summarised
below and are addressed in the strategies outlined in Section 3.
Opportunities
- Ensure
the redevelopment and revitalisation of Redfern-Waterloo contributes
towards the achievement of metropolitan employment targets and improves
opportunities for people to live and work within acceptable commuting
distances. - Reinforce
the role of Redfern-Waterloo in the Sydney CBD to Airport economic
corridor and support links to key educational and health facilities in the
region. - Support
employment opportunities and initiatives for local residents as outlined
in the Employment and Enterprise Plan. - Facilitate
provision of additional housing, greater housing choice and affordable
housing. - Facilitate
the upgrade of Redfern Railway Station and the creation of a significant
civic space adjacent to the Railway Station. - Realise
the potential of Redfern Railway Station and anchor Redfern as a major
destination. - Facilitate
improved linkages between Redfern Railway Station and local employment
hubs, Redfern Town Centre, and the University of Sydney. - Work
with relevant government agencies to address regional and local traffic
and public transport issues; ensure traffic generated by new development
is managed: and improve bus access. - Facilitate
improved connectivity between east and west Redfern. - Facilitate
public domain improvements along linkages and increase open space
provision through redevelopment of RWA’s strategic sites. - Improve
safety and amenity in the area. - Encourage
Aboriginal enterprise and cultural development and reinforce Redfern as a
meeting place for Aboriginal people. - Facilitate
the establishment of community and cultural facilities for all residents
and support the initiatives outlined in the Human Services Plan. - Ensure
high quality urban design and architecture, and encourage design
excellence. - Protect
and adaptively reuse heritage items, where practicable.
2.1 Strategic Location
Redfern-Waterloo is strategically located to the south of
the Sydney Central Business District (CBD), 3 kilometres from the Sydney Town
Hall. To the south-west of Redfern-Waterloo are Sydney’s economic gateways, Port Botany and Sydney Airport.
Under the NSW Government’s Metropolitan Strategy (City of Cities, A Plan for
Sydney’s Future) released in 2005, the Redfern-Waterloo area is designated as
part of the Sydney CBD to Sydney Airport economic corridor and the broader
global economic corridor from North Sydney to the Airport. This corridor
contains activities critical to the Sydney
metropolitan economy. Diagram 2.1 illustrates the
important strategic position of the Redfern-Waterloo area.
The area’s close proximity to the Sydney CBD accentuates the
emergence of a major employment centre in Redfern located close to Sydney’s national and
international businesses; and key health, education, cultural and entertainment
facilities as shown on Diagram 2.2. It is important that
future development reinforces the area’s proximity to the Sydney CBD and
provides stronger physical links to these facilities and activities.
Redfern-Waterloo is highly accessible to:
- Tertiary
educational campuses of the University of Sydney, University of
Technology, University of NSW, University of Notre Dame and Sydney
Institute of Technology. - Health
facilities such as Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
and St Vincent’s Hospital. - Regional
and local open space – Victoria Park, Moore
Park, Centennial
Park, Prince Alfred Park, Redfern Park,
Waterloo Park
and Alexandria
Park. - Community
facilities and services. - Transport
infrastructure – rail and bus networks, major road networks including
regional roads linking to the Sydney CBD, Sydney Airport
and Port Botany (such as Botany
Road, Regent Street, Cleveland
Street and O’Riordan Street). - Residential
and commercial developments proposed at Green Square and the Carlton United
Brewery (CUB) site.
2.2 Metropolitan
Strategy Planning Objectives
In December 2005 the NSW Government released the City of Cities – A Plan for Sydney’s
Future, the 25 year Metropolitan Strategy for Sydney. The Metropolitan Strategy predicts Sydney’s population to
grow from the current population of 4.2 million to 5.3 million by 2031 (an
additional 1.1 million people in 25 years). The NSW Government predicts that
this will require 640,000 new homes, 500,000 additional jobs, 6.8 million
square metres of additional commercial space and 3.7 million square metres of
additional retail space. A key approach to the Metropolitan Strategy is
residential and employment growth within existing key centres and economic
corridors.
The Metropolitan Strategy identifies Redfern-Waterloo as an
area which lies within Sydney’s Economic
Corridors (the corridor refers to the concentration of employment and gateway
infrastructure from Macquarie Park through to Chatswood, St Leonards, North Sydney and the Sydney CBD to the Airport and Port
Botany).
Due to the area’s strategic location and public transport
provision, it plays a major role in supporting Sydney’s Economic Corridor by concentrating
jobs and activity around Redfern Railway Station and ensuring the provision of
sufficiently zoned land for business.
The Metropolitan Strategy sets planning targets for the City
of Sydney of
55,000 new dwellings and 58,000 new jobs by 2031. The development of the RWA’s
strategic sites can contribute to providing land for business and residential
purposes to assist in meeting these Sydney
metropolitan planning targets.
It will maximise the advantage of existing public transport;
the Sydney CBD, Airport and Port; recreational and cultural facilities; and
nearby significant health and educational facilities.
The Redfern-Waterloo area has a population of nearly 20,000,
which is less than half the population in the early 1950’s. Redfern-Waterloo
has experienced a decline in its traditional industrial and warehousing
business base. There are currently about 12,500 jobs within the RWA’s
operational area.
The decline in population and the traditional industrial
base has impacted on the area’s economic sustainability. Redfern-Waterloo, as
with many suburbs along the Sydney CBD to Airport corridor, is undergoing a
transformation towards a more commercial and service oriented business base.
The RWA’s strategic sites can contribute positively by injecting more
development potential for employment generation.
Redfern-Waterloo’s accessible location provides a great
opportunity to support sustainability by providing a greater number of jobs
within Sydney’s
south east region. Job growth in Redfern-Waterloo will enhance opportunities
for people to live and work within acceptable commuting distance, positively
contributing to family life and the reduction of greenhouse emissions.
2.3 History and
Heritage
Redfern-Waterloo has a rich built history that is evidenced
by the late nineteenth century terrace housing, industrial buildings and
warehouses, all of which still characterise the area today. Redfern has a
strong industrial history dating back to the mid 1800’s. It attracted a wide
range of industries such as tanneries, brickworks, wool washing and market
gardens. Much housing was constructed for the workers of these industries.
The Eveleigh Railway Workshops, built in the 1870’s,
provided a unique influence to the development of the area. The Workshops
attracted many workers to the area and at the height of operations employed
over 3,000 skilled workers. The late nineteenth century terrace housing was
largely constructed to provide housing for those employed at the Workshops. The
Workshops closed in the late 1980’s with railway operations and maintenance
facilities still existing on the southern side of the railway line. Today the
Australian Technology Park (ATP) has brought back employment and people to the
southern part of Eveleigh with adaptive reuse of the Locomotive Workshop and
new developments.
The Eveleigh Railway Workshops is currently listed on the
State Heritage Register.
The adaptive reuse of significant heritage buildings such as
the Locomotive Workshop at the ATP and the Contemporary Performing Arts Centre
at the Carriage Workshops in North Eveleigh
contribute to the unique character and setting of the railway yards, reinforces
the industrial history of the area and preserves the heritage significance of
the railway yards. The Chief Mechanical Engineers Office building that fronts Wilson Street is
another fine example of a heritage building that lends itself to adaptive
reuse.
The history of the area is also reflected in the former
Local Court House on Redfern
Street, some buildings on the former Redfern Public School
site (along George Street)
and various buildings on the former Rachel
Forster Hospital
site.
Further work will be undertaken to determine the heritage
integrity of individual heritage items and appropriate measures to protect
their relative importance with each development proposal.
Due to the poor condition of housing within Redfern-Waterloo
in the mid 1900’s, the County
of Cumberland Plan
(1948-1951) provided for the demolition of houses to be replaced with high rise
apartment blocks in a landscaped setting. The Housing Commission at the time
played a key role in developing Redfern-Waterloo as evidenced by the public
housing that remains today. The Department of Housing towers remain a strong
built feature in the landscape and continue to reflect the very high proportion
of public housing tenancies in the area. The State Government has given its
commitment that there will be no reduction to the amount of public housing
tenancies in the area; current residents will not be disadvantaged; and all
public tenancies are secure.
The Aboriginal community has continually occupied the
Redfern-Waterloo area. Since the 1940’s Redfern and the area known as the Block
(bound by Eveleigh, Vine, Louis and Caroline Streets) has become an important
base for Aboriginal people in Sydney.
The Block has been in Aboriginal ownership since 1973 when it was purchased for
Aboriginal housing through a Commonwealth Government grant. The struggle to
gain ownership of the Block was part of the movement by Aboriginal people
during the 1970’s towards self-determination. Many of the original houses on
the Block have been demolished. Of the remaining dwellings a number are
derelict.
The much needed redevelopment of the Block must recognise
the social and cultural importance of the area for Aboriginal people. Redfern
has a special status for Aboriginal people as evidenced by the various
organisations in the area, including the Aboriginal Medical Service,
Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, Aboriginal Legal Service, Wyanga
(Aboriginal aged care), Aboriginal Dance Theatre and Aboriginal Children’s
Service.
2.4 Community
The Redfern-Waterloo area is the traditional home of the
Gadigal Clan of the Eora Nation. Redfern is a centre of major significance to Aboriginal
people who have a strong association with the area and contribute to its strong
sense of identity. The Block is particularly important as a meeting place for
local Aboriginal people, as well as visitors from outside the area.
“Redfern has a modern tradition
of being a beacon for Aboriginal people from around Australia – it provides an
opportunity to reunite with family and friends from their hometowns or to
simply be with ‘their mob’. Originally there has been a ‘sense of place’ here
for the Aboriginal community and a sense of cultural and spiritual identity in an
otherwise alienating environment.”
(Aboriginal Housing Company;
2001)
Redfern-Waterloo is also characterised by strong cultural
and ethnic diversity. The area has a rich multicultural community with
residents from Russian, Chinese, Arabic, Greek, Spanish, Vietnamese and various
backgrounds other than English. There is a strong sense of community spirit
within the area. From interviews with the local community (Making Connections:
Better Services, Stronger Community, 2004) it was expressed that people value
the diversity of the area and that there is a high level of respect despite
some negative external perceptions. Appendix One provides a community
profile.
Compared to the Sydney
region the Redfern-Waterloo area experiences higher levels of economic and
social disadvantage. This is attributed to lower incomes, education, home
ownership and labour force participation, high levels of unemployment and
public housing occupancy.
Within the Aboriginal community the social and economic
disadvantage is more significant with people more likely to be unemployed, have
lower incomes and fewer assets, poorer education, literacy and health and lower
life expectancy.
The social and economic disadvantage has contributed to
complex social issues and a negative perception of the Redfern-Waterloo area.
Crime levels, including a re-offending population, drug and
alcohol dependence and poor health, (particularly mental health); and family
breakdown and stress are issues for people living in Redfern-Waterloo.
Empowerment through access to jobs, education and training
are key to addressing the fundamental problems associated with social
disadvantage. The Employment and Enterprise Plan prepared by the RWA outlines opportunities
for job creation for the local community. The Built Environment Plan provides
the planning mechanism for much of the job creation identified in the
Employment and Enterprise Plan.
The Human Services Plan complements these initiatives by
ensuring a more efficient and appropriate delivery of human services to those
in need in the community. In support of the Human Services Plan, this Plan
provides land use and planning controls that will facilitate the establishment
of community and cultural facilities.
As a result of gentrification and private housing ownership
in parts of Redfern-Waterloo over the past decade, the relative proportion of
lower to medium income households has decreased and is comparative to the wider
Sydney region.
While gentrification has facilitated increased growth and prosperity it has
also reduced the affordability of housing within Redfern-Waterloo, which has
led to the displacement of lower income households. This in turn has
contributed to increasing social polarisation as the gap between high and low
income earners widens. Declining housing affordability is an issue that needs
to be addressed. This objective is reinforced by the Redfern-Waterloo Authority
Act, which makes provision for the RWA to collect funds to provide for
affordable housing in the area.
The RWA seeks to create a more sustainable future for the
community in the Redfern-Waterloo area.
2.5 Built Environment
and Land Use
Redfern-Waterloo is characterised by a fine grained
subdivision pattern within residential areas featuring narrow frontages (about
five to six metres) and deep lots (about thirty metres) with streets to the
front and laneways to the rear. Larger lots occur where warehousing and railway
uses were located. Overall the street pattern provides simple rectilinear
street blocks. Many are divided by narrow laneways that provide rear access to
dwellings and business premises.
Much of the residential development in the area responds to
the alignment of the streets, resulting in a strong sense of enclosure along
streets within the area.
There are many street types within the area, ranging from
wide industrial streets that lack trees, to residential streets and laneways
featuring significant mature trees and a high level of pedestrian amenity.
As is typical of many inner city areas of Sydney, the built form is a mixture of
terrace housing, small single storey cottages, and two to three storey
commercial and retail buildings. To the west of the Redfern-Waterloo area the
built form includes significant groupings of two storey terraces. Interspersed
within this, especially along the main traffic routes (such as, Cleveland Street
and Regent Street)
and close to the railway line are larger four to six storey warehouses,
industrial and apartment buildings. Along streets such as Abercrombie Street and Lawson Street there are concentrations of
older warehouses and buildings associated with the University of Sydney
that have greater height. Generally, the scale is three to five storeys, which
continue back along Lawson Street
to the Redfern Railway Station. It is this mix of scale and architectural form
that is part of the character of these inner city locations.
The Redfern-Waterloo area has also been subject to more
recent twentieth century modernist development featuring tall buildings set
within open space. This development has introduced a high rise built form, with
the 11 storey commercial towers on Lawson and Regent Streets and the Department
of Housing towers of up to 30 storeys. The commercial towers on Lawson Street
coincide with the ridge line to create a visual marker for the Redfern Town
Centre (Redfern Railway Station and Redfern
Street).
The Redfern Town Centre at Redfern Street has a mixture of built
form including the 11 storey towers and two to four storey buildings. The
centre lacks active uses at street level and is visually unappealing.
The Eveleigh Railway lands contrast to the general built
form of the area with large warehouse structures covering extensive footprints.
The ATP provides a positive built environment incorporating adaptive reuse of
buildings, contemporary designed buildings and a good public domain.
Along Regent
Street and its surrounds there has recently been
new mixed use development characterised by commercial and retail on the ground
floor and residential above. This has provided new premises for businesses and
increased activity along the street, while increasing the population.
There are no major supermarkets servicing the local
population and residents often travel to Surry Hills, East Gardens,
Marrickville or Broadway for their weekly shopping.
Despite the extensive movement network, transport options
and grid street system, connectivity for pedestrians and residents to some key
destinations, such as the Redfern Railway Station, the Town Centre and between
North and South Eveleigh is restricted. This
is primarily due to the rail corridor, rail yards and major roads carrying
through traffic.
The result is a disconnected suburban structure and
development sites enclosed by the transportation network. This has led to the
separation of Redfern and Regent Streets from the western residents and worker
population, which has discouraged pedestrian movement through to the Redfern
Town Centre.
2.6 Transport and
Access
Public Transport
The Redfern Railway Station is one of the most significant
assets of Redfern-Waterloo. Railway stations and other public transport nodes
play an important role in the revitalisation of a local area by providing
transport for workers and residents. Redfern Railway Station is the tenth
busiest railway station in the metropolitan CityRail network in terms of
passenger movements with approximately 31,000 movements occurring on a typical
weekday (entries and exits). In addition, considerable passenger interchanges
occur between platforms (approximately 18,000 rail to rail passenger
interchange movements within the station on a weekday). More CityRail suburban
and inter urban trains stop at Redfern Railway Station than any other station,
with the exception of Central, providing it with superior access to and within
metropolitan Sydney. Redfern Railway Station provides an exceptional
opportunity as a destination for commuters.
Information provided by RailCorp indicates that over 55
percent of commuters walk to the station and approximately 37 percent travel to
the station by bus. Only about five percent of rail commuters arrive at the
station by car. There is significant movement of people to the University of Sydney
and over 1,300 people interchange during the peak period from rail to bus to
access the employment areas of Mascot, Botany and Alexandria. This data clearly indicates that
access and connectivity to bus stops, key adjoining destinations, such as the
University of Sydney, and future activity nodes at Redfern Town Centre (Redfern
Street), ATP and North Eveleigh must be well considered to ensure ease of
access and safety for workers, residents and visitors.
Redfern Railway Station does not currently provide access
for people with a disability, in line with the Disability Standards for
Accessible Public Transport and the Disability Discrimination Act. The stairway
access to the platforms is inequitable for the elderly, young children and less
mobile people. In addition, many of the movement areas are not sufficiently large
enough to comfortably accommodate the amount of people moving to and from the
Station at peak periods.
Any proposed redevelopment of the RWA’s strategic sites must
be matched with improvements to Redfern Railway Station and associated
connections to key destinations in the Redfern-Waterloo area. This is
reinforced in the Metropolitan Strategy where upgrading the station is seen as
a key initiative to providing better services for future development.
The Redfern Railway Station upgrade needs to occur to
provide:
- disabled
access and enhanced safety - a
general increase in rail patronage growth - increased
capacity to service new business and residential development proposed on
the RWA’s strategic sites - a
physically improved Railway Station that improves the entry and
connections to the Redfern-Waterloo area - a
more efficient rail interchange facility - improved
connection to key destinations within 5 to 15 minutes walking radius of
the Station - safe
access out of the station onto busy roads that divides the Station
environs - a
high degree of public and pedestrian amenity.
Existing bus services operating in Redfern offer a high
level of regional and local connectivity. The service levels on Gibbons and
Regents Streets are split due to the one-way traffic flow, which can make
locating bus stops difficult.
In 2007 the RTA will be considering the upgrade of the
Gibbons and Regent Streets corridor as part of its Strategic Bus Corridor
Program linking Miranda to the CBD. This will improve the speed and reliability
of buses along this corridor.
As a result, the frequency of services and the expansion of
existing bus routes need to be closely examined. Pedestrian connections to key
bus stops, especially on Regent and Lawson Streets also need to be improved.
Roads and Traffic
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2001 Census
data, compared to the Sydney
metropolitan region, Redfern-Waterloo has almost half the level of car
ownership and double the public transport patronage. This is due to the
socio-economic profile of the existing population and the area’s close
proximity to a number of destinations, such as Newtown,
the University of Sydney, Moore
Park, Cleveland Street and Surry Hills.
The Redfern-Waterloo area channels significant volumes of
regional traffic and people to other destinations in Sydney, rather than being a key destination.
Currently, large volumes of regional traffic travelling north-south along
Gibbons and Regent Streets physically dissect the Redfern Railway Station from
the Redfern Town Centre area. This limits physical connections, restricts
pedestrian movement and reduces pedestrian safety.
The Department of Planning has advised that over the next 10
years traffic in the Sydney CBD to Airport corridor is anticipated to increase
by 20,000 road trips in the morning peak. The continuing strong growth in the
movement of vehicles and trucks through the Airport and Port Botany will
increase traffic on the regional transport network. Without any action to
address the increasing traffic from the Airport and Port Botany, regional
traffic will continue to increase through Redfern-Waterloo impacting on
pedestrian amenity and safety. Unless carefully managed, this will continue to
negatively impact on the already poor business environment along Regent and Gibbons
Streets and reduce the pedestrian amenity.
The RWA in partnership with the Roads and Traffic Authority
(RTA) is currently examining various options to manage regional traffic through
Redfern-Waterloo to create a safer main street and pedestrian environment. The
solution may require a more strategic response that takes into consideration
broader metropolitan and regional traffic issues, which may take some time to
investigate and resolve.
Pedestrian Network
The pedestrian network is highly accessible and the main
pedestrian routes are likely to remain. Lawson and Redfern Streets are the main
east-west pedestrian link. The western footpath of Gibbons Street carries a heavy volume of
pedestrians to the Station and bus services. Lawson Street is a major pedestrian route
for university students.
Pedestrian movement between the Station and the Town Centre
is severely impeded by the speed and volume of traffic using Regent and Gibbons
Streets. In order to improve the pedestrian network and safety this issue needs
to be addressed.
Approaching the Station there is little shelter for
pedestrians from wind, rain and sun.
Pedestrian connections to North
Eveleigh from the Station are indirect, whilst pedestrian routes
from the Station are unclear.
Footpaths along Regent
Street have more active frontages than on Gibbons Street.
Cycling
There are many existing on road bicycle routes through or
adjoining the RWA’s strategic sites.
Currently, there are on road bicycle routes along Redfern Street, Lawson Street
connecting to Little Eveleigh Street and Wilson Street, which extend towards
Erskineville, Newtown, the University of Sydney
and City Road.
There are also on road bicycle routes along Henderson Road and Railway Parade.
The only off road bicycle route in the locality is through
the ATP.
As part of the City of Sydney’s upgrade of Redfern Street,
Council is establishing cycle and traffic lanes and 10 kilometres per hour
speed limits along Wells Street and Turner Street to improve the safety for
cyclists and to direct them off the busier and more dangerous traffic routes
(such as Redfern Street).
Further work will be undertaken to determine linkages to and
through RWA’s strategic sites for cyclists.
2.7 Open Space and
Public Domain
Redfern-Waterloo and the immediate surrounds are
characterised by a hierarchy of public open spaces consisting of:
- regional
parks–example, Moore
Park - district
parks–examples, Redfern Park, Victoria Park and Prince Alfred Park - local
parks scattered throughout residential areas, including Hollis Park,
Alexandria Park,
Yellowmudee Park,
Hugo Street Reserve and Pemulwuy
Park.
The City of Sydney
is currently completing the upgrade of a number of local parks in Eveleigh Street and
east Redfern to make the parks more attractive, improve their function, and
improve safety and visibility.
Despite the availability of open space in the general area,
the Redfern Town Centre lacks a well designed central meeting place.
Redevelopment offers the opportunity to create a quality civic space adjacent
to the Redfern Railway Station.
The public domain within the town centre and other RWA’s
strategic sites is unattractive. Dark streets and shuttered shop fronts create
the perception that the area is unsafe and unwelcoming.
This is especially the case in the Redfern Town Centre,
along Redfern and Regents Streets, which are currently underperforming as the
area’s retail hub. Improvements to the public domain of surrounding town
centres, such as King Street, Newtown; Erskineville Road, Erskineville; and
Oxford Street, Paddington; have had a significant impact on encouraging people
to use these areas, and boosted local business activity significantly.
Crime and personal safety has been identified by the
community as the most significant issue that needs to be addressed in the area.
This especially relates to the use and enjoyment of public areas frequently
compromised by crime and intimidating behaviour. The NSW Government Submission
for the Inquiry into Redfern and Waterloo 2004 highlights the strong community
concern about crime and safety. These concerns were also expressed by the
public during consultation for the RED Strategy. Improvements to the public
domain and increased public surveillance are important ways in which public
safety and perception can be improved and are an important element of this
Plan.
The community has also indicated a need for public domain
and streetscape improvements. The City of Sydney
council has commenced a $20 million streetscape improvement program. The works
include improvements to the footpaths, under grounding of power lines, new
street furniture, new street trees and lighting on Redfern Street. In addition, improvements
to the Jack Floyd Reserve and a limited upgrade of Regent Street are also to be undertaken.
This public investment is a positive start to improving the access and amenity
of the area, however, the RWA has indicated to the City of Sydney that much more needs to be done to
revitalise Regent Street.
The lack of connectivity also contributes to poor passive
surveillance of the public spaces.
The access to the north eastern part of the area around Eveleigh Street is
heavily compromised due to the lack of visual connection and passive
surveillance, which contributes to antisocial behaviour in public open space
areas.
2.8 Topography and
Views
Topography
The majority of the Redfern-Waterloo area is located either
along the ridge line or on north, west and south facing slopes. Redfern Street and
the commercial towers along Lawson
Street are located along a ridge line. There is
also a ridge line running slightly east of Elizabeth Street.
Views
The Redfern-Waterloo area offers magnificent views looking
north towards the Sydney CBD. The Sydney CBD is visible from most of the
north-south streets crossing Redfern
Street and along Lawson Street where it intersects Eveleigh Street.
To the south are district views of the Department of Housing
high rise apartments and views towards Sydney
Airport and Botany
Bay. Views to the east and west are generally local in nature.
The Redfern
Street ridge line is visible from the southern
parts of the Sydney CBD and from the high rise development on the southern edge
of the city. The existing commercial towers along Lawson Street and the
Department of Housing high rise apartments are prominent features that can be
viewed when travelling southward through the area.
From the south, the Redfern-Waterloo area is less visible as
the slope is fairly gradual, although the high rise apartment grouping is
highly visible.
2.9 Infrastructure
The proposed increases in residential population and
businesses will have an impact on capacity of infrastructure. This includes the
provision of gas, electricity, telecommunications, water, sewerage, and
stormwater.
The feedback from preliminary consultation with
infrastructure service providers is detailed below.
Electricity
Energy Australia
has advised that there is extensive infrastructure in the area consisting of
underground 132kV, 11kV and low voltage cables. This is supported by substations
located on private properties, Energy Australia owned properties and on
footpaths.
There is also a 330kV underground TransGrid cable running form
Sydney South to Haymarket. This cable forms a major part of supply to the CBD.
Energy Australia
is planning for substantial electricity load growth in the area. The general
capacity of the network is constantly monitored and reviewed in light of more
detailed development plans.
Energy Australia
has indicated that the area has aged assets that will be replaced over the next
5 to 10 years. These works will be focused in Redfern, Regent, Renwick, Gibbons
and Abercrombie Streets; Henderson Road; Botany Road to O’Riordan Street; and
Elizabeth and Chalmers Streets south of Cleveland Street.
Future developments in the area may require the provision of
on-site substations.
Energy Australia
has indicated that they are undertaking extensive excavation works and under
grounding of overhead power lines in Redfern
Street between Elizabeth and Regent
Streets as part of the City of Sydney’s Redfern Street upgrade.
Gas
Preliminary details provided by Agility indicate that all
RWA’s strategic sites have good access to gas mains. Reticulation mains may be
required on a number of the strategic sites such as North Eveleigh, South Eveleigh, and the Redfern Railway Station, Gibbons
and Regents Streets sites. There is capacity in the gas network to supply
current projected growth for the next 10 years. Agility reviews gas capacity on
an ongoing basis taking into consideration issues of timing and natural gas
consumption patterns. To ensure a reliable supply of gas, Agility will advise
on the servicing options for specific development proposals on RWA’s strategic
sites as they occur on a case by case basis.
Telecommunications
All basic telephone services are currently delivered from
the Redfern exchange by copper cable. In addition, there is an extensive
optical fibre network in the area, serving business and residential needs.
Technology is rapidly changing and delivery of services by optical fibre is
becoming more economical. Telstra has advised that they will soon be delivering
basic telephone services and ADSL using ‘Fibre to the Node’ (FTTN). As a
result, in the Redfern-Waterloo there will be a mix of delivery by conventional
copper cables and FTTN in the short to medium term.
Telstra has processes in place to initiate augmentation of copper
cables before capacity is exhausted. The optical fibre network capacity and
coverage will be provided as the needs of the area increase. For businesses
requiring network security, Telstra can provide additional fibre feeds from
adjacent exchanges (such as Newtown and
Kensington) as already provided for the Australian Technology
Park customers.
Water, wastewater and
stormwater
Sydney Water and RWA are currently examining water and waste
water capacity and infrastructure requirements for RWA’s strategic sites. This
will provide a basis for forward planning of infrastructure requirements based
on the land uses, heights and floor space ratios indicated in this Plan. It is envisaged
that water cycle management strategies including water reuse and recycling will
be considered for the strategic sites. This may involve treated wastewater,
sewer mining and stormwater harvesting.
Three stormwater channels fall within the Redfern-Waterloo area,
namely: Sheas Creek, Munni Creek and Blackwattle
Bay. With the exception
of the Eveleigh Street
site, the RWA’s strategic sites are located in the Alexandria Canal
catchment. This catchment ultimately feeds into the Cooks
River and Botany
Bay. The Redfern-Waterloo area has been identified as an area of
low stormwater capacity. The Alexandra Canal Master Plan produced in 2001
provides a basis for stormwater management on the RWA’s strategic sites. The
RWA and Sydney Water will be examining the stormwater capacity of the area to
provide a more holistic approach to water cycle management.
Port radar
Sydney
Ports has advised that a
radar projects from Port Botany to the Harbour Control Tower at Millers Point.
The radar is used by Sydney Ports to monitor ship movements in Botany
Bay. Developments protruding into or adjacent to the line of sight
of the radar will impact on the radar’s microwave transmission and may affect
the safety of shipping movements. The microwave beam traverses the Australian Technology
Park and North
Eveleigh sites. Accordingly, development proposals that may impact
on the radar are required to be referred to Sydney Ports
and may require microwave repeaters to be incorporated on sites and buildings.