RWA Releases BEP2 Stakeholder Engagement Report

by

The Links to the documents released on 22 July
2011 include the following:

BEP 2 Stakeholder Engagement Report released – media release – 21 July 2011

The
Redfern-Waterloo Authority (RWA) has released the Stakeholder Engagement Report
for the Built Environment Plan Stage 2 (BEP 2), capturing the community’s
feedback on this important project.

Undertaken by
an independent consultant, Mediate Today, RWA is pleased to make available the Stakeholder
Engagement Report that outlines the community feedback on BEP 2, a planning framework
for the renewal of social housing sites in Redfern-Waterloo and South Eveleigh
over a 20-25 year timeframe.

Roy
Wakelin-King, CEO of RWA, recognises the importance of feedback from the
community in the BEP 2 process saying, “The feedback we received through the
BEP 2 consultation process was very valuable. The feedback was constructive,
insightful and of good quality.

“During the
non-statutory exhibition period from 27 January to 28 February 2011, over 100
people attended the public exhibition events, around 800 people were involved
in street corner discussions, and more than 500 feedback forms were received by
the RWA from social housing tenants. These activities have captured the
important feedback from a broad spectrum of stakeholders including residents,
government and non-government organisations, local businesses and the wider community.”

The
Stakeholder Engagement Report concludes that there a large number of
respondents (across all stakeholder groups) who generally support the potential
changes that BEP 2 outlines. Key findings from the feedback forms are:
residents want a safe environment; that development caters for the needs of
specific groups; and open space encompasses areas for vegetation and
recreational facilities.

“The RWA’s
BEP 2 community consultation has outlined some key important learnings and we
will be working closely with the community to address these,” explains Mr Wakelin-King.

“We will be
using the Stakeholder Engagement Report in preparation for further studies of
the Redfern-Waterloo area and acknowledge the need to have a far reaching
consultative process. We will also consider the issues raised in the BEP 2
submissions about providing more detail on the design and allocation of open
space and the social impacts of the changes and how these will be supported in
the future. A Community Facilities Review will be carried out as part of this
process.

“Further
community consultation will be an essential part for the next stages of BEP 2
and we will be engaging with the community as the project moves forward.”

The BEP 2
planning framework, developed by the Redfern-Waterloo Authority in close
consultation with Housing NSW, profiles the renewal of social housing sites by
providing better residential amenity and a sustainable mix of private,
affordable and social housing. The proposal outlines an increase in dwellings
from 3,500 to 7,000 in the Redfern-Waterloo area with a mix of 60% private and
affordable housing dwellings and 40% social housing.

To view the
full report please visit the RWA website or download from this link BEP2 Stakeholder
Engagement Report (pdf~2Mb).

Source: Media Release: BEP 2
Stakeholder Engagement Report released

RWA Response to Stakeholder Engagement Report prepared
by Mediate Today on Draft Built Environment Plan (Stage
2) (BEP 2)

The Redfern-Waterloo
Authority (RWA) exhibited Draft BEP 2 from 27 January 2011 to 28 February 2011,
with submissions accepted after that date. Mediate Today, an independent firm,
was appointed provide a Stakeholder Engagement Report on feedback
received from the exhibition. The RWA is pleased to publicly release the
report, and is appreciative of the many wide ranging submissions received
resulting from the engagement efforts by the RWA and Housing NSW (HNSW) with
the wider community.

The main recommendations
from the Stakeholder Engagement Report are outlined below. It is
appropriate that, in releasing the report, the RWA provide a response to the
report’s recommendations, which is outlined in the table below:

Recommendation

RWA Response
  • consider the differences in
    responses provided by different groups and to seek to address these;

RWA commits to exhibit
the next Plan for longer than the statutory period. The RWA has appointed
Straight Talk Pty Ltd, a consultancy specialising in community engagement and
strategic communications, to provide a strategy for future consultation
activities related to planning and development in the Redfern-Waterloo area.
Additionally, RWA will continue to meet with key stakeholders to discuss
consultation issues, while HNSW will continue to engage with the community
regarding its Master Planning phase.
  • consider more time for
    consultation, particularly during the next exhibition stage;
  • develop a further consultation plan
    with input from key stakeholders, considering further capacity building
    activities;
  • consider the inclusion of more
    detail in the following stage(s);

While the next planning
stage is intended to be the recommendation of a planning framework within the
context of the wider area, the RWA will aim to provide more detail on what
could be built (noting that planning controls do not prescribe specific and
exact outcomes), particularly visual material that may assist the community
to understand the proposal.
  • undertake detailed engagement with
    the City of Sydney to further consider the matters raised in its submission.

The RWA has met with the
City of Sydney a number of times since the exhibition of Draft BEP 2 to
discuss matters raised in its submission and further planning in the area.
The RWA is committed to working closely with the City of Sydney, who is an
extremely important stakeholder in the future of the BEP 2 sites and wider area.

 

Source: RWA response to the report’s recommendations – PDF 22KB