Residents of Redfern, Eveleigh, Darlington and Waterloo are clearly
skeptical about plans to redevelop their area. They recently railed against the
loss of park lands, the forcing of Aboriginal housing off The Block, increased traffic
and disruptions to bike lanes and plans to turn Redfern into part of the CBD.
The concerns were expressed at a public forum called by the Redfern-Waterloo Authority
(RWA) to discuss its plans for the area.
The RWA’s draft Built Environment Plan is just one of three plans
for the area that have been released so far – with many more elements to come.
All of these plans form part of a grand vision for the redevelopment of the
Redfern-Waterloo area to be overseen by a specially created government body,
complete with its own Minister – Frank Sartor. It is an experiment in planning
that hopes to incorporate employment, service delivery and social mix into the usual
plans for the physical space.
This process has been going for several years under a number
of different names, of which the most recent is the RWA.
The draft Built Environment Plan includes a radical vision
for transforming the area around the station into a central business district –
with six 18 story office blocks next to the old TNT towers (which are 12
stories), a thousand new residents and up to 18,000 new workers.
The plan also includes the development of significant
government land, including the North Eveleigh railyards, Redfern
Public School and Rachel Forster
Hospital. The RWA claims
that this will be an important part of revitalising the area, providing space
for Sydney’s growing
residential and business needs and that the sale of government land in the area
will help finance much needed investment.
But the 70 residents attending the public forum expressed a range
of concerns. Those in the
Watertower, the apartment building on the eastern side of
Redfern station, were anxious about the future of the Marian Street
Park, which appears to
become office space under the plan.
Residents expressed their outrage at moves to lower the
allowance for residential housing on The Block, potentially making it impossible
to proceed with the Aboriginal Housing Company’s award-winning Pemulwuy
Project, and thus forcing Aboriginal housing off the Block.
Bike riders were critical of a planned road tunnel under the
railway lines from the Australian
Technology Park
to Wilson St,
near Codrington St.
The tunnel would potentially bring thousands of cars onto the area’s main bike
highway.
Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, argued that it was impossible to
properly respond to the plan without seeing details of how the extra traffic would
be managed or what new open space would be provided for the significant
increase in population, plans that the RWA is still developing.
Following on from the forum, residents group REDWatch held their
own community meeting to allow residents to hear each other’s concerns. The
meeting, of about 50 people, resolved to work together to ensure residents are fully
aware of the implications of the development and have a real say in how, and
if, it proceeds.
Submissions on the Built Environment Plan can be made until April
14 via the RWA website
– www.redfernwaterloo.com.au
and more information can be found at the REDWatch website www.redwatch.org.au.