Following the controversial release of the pro development
draft BEP in April; the RWA purports to have made up to 700 amendments. The
final plan provides for 440,000 square metres of employment space and 2,000
homes across eight strategic sites encouraging the creation of up to 18,000
jobs, says the Minister for Planning Frank Sartor.
Key features of the final BEP are the creation of a Town
Centre to the east of a redeveloped Redfern Railway Station, a $6 million
pedestrian and cycle bridge to link Australian Technology Park with North
Eveleigh, a A$10 million community health centre at the former Redfern
Courthouse and Police Station on Regent Street, and the investment of $16
million over
10 years in affordable housing for Aboriginal residents. The
total $32 million investment amount will be funded by the RWA.
Concessions appear to have been – made by the RWA on matters
of heritage, building heights, and open space including the preservation of
Marian Park. The RWA also bowed to community pressure in The Block, relaxing
floor space ratios but failing to satisfy the Aboriginal Housing Company’s (AHC) push for higher density. AHC CEO Mick
Mundine says the final plan is discriminatory, prescribing the lowest density
ratio to The Block.
Residents are encouraged to respond to the RWA regarding the
final BEP, as some aspects are still yet to be determined. The final BEP can be
downloaded from the RWA’s website (www.redfernwaterloo.nsw.gov.au
) and running interpretations will be posted on local community group REDWatch’s website (www.redwatch.org.au
).
In related news, the RWA has appointed Aboriginal advocates
Warren Mundine and Ann Weldon to their board.
Illustration: An
artist’s impression of the proposed
Redfern Community Health Centre
[South Sydney Herald September 2006]