Given the rush of government announcements across different parts of Government it must be Christmas time!

Yesterday the Government announced that UrbanGrowth NSW (UG) would handle an EOI process which closes 30th January 2015 for the sale of the Australian Technology Park.

As requested by REDWatch from UG below you will find an email regarding this announcement and immediately below is what has appeared on the UG website:

December 4, 2014: The NSW Government is seeking Expression of Interest (EOI) to confirm market interest in the Australian Technology Park (ATP). This is a continuation of the well-established intention that began in 2013. The sale could enable further development consistent with the vision in the Major Development SEPP 2005 and to release the capital locked in the asset, including for possible reinvestment in the transformation of the Central to Eveleigh corridor. THE EOI will include requirements for continued public access to and through the Park, and that any developments embrace the commercial, heritage and conservation attributes of the Park and contribute positively to the surrounding community.  For more information visit the ATP website.

Below you will find links to information about the sale and site that we currently are aware of:

• EOI for Sale of ATP – rather than attach we have put it on REDWatch website and applied link
• Frank Knight Sales Brochure for Australian Technology Park EOI – This is on Frank Knight website – when it disappears we will put it on REDWatch.
• The ATP Property Development Page contains links to key documents relevant to the sale and some ATP tenant focused FAQs
• The REDWatch website on ATP details the history of this complex site that has been the focus for a number of campaigns involving REDWatch.

Initial REDWatch Comment

As UrbanGrowth has a meeting coming up next week and some people will want to get across this announcement before then we are sending this out as quickly as possible with some initial observations so you can seek clarifications next week.

Bad Community Engagement Start for UG

UrbanGrowth in their Concept Plan had a series of questions about what people would like to see at the ATP including the question “If ownership of ATP were to change what are the key public benefits you would like to see retained if possible?”

In an ideal world after such a “feeling out” of the community a body like UG would come back to the community and say this is what we heard, did we get it right?, this is what we are thinking of doing, and what do you think about that? Community Engagement best practice however has not made it to UG NSW to influence this decision so there has been no feedback on what they thought they were told or any further discussion of what safeguards they were putting in place to protect against community concerns  just an announcement that the Govt has decided to sell!

Even worse UG have not put out anything to the community that addressed the issues that were raised with them or the ATP and said how the EOI process will try and address those concerns.

How does sale fit with UG C2E?

Sale is for site with existing RWA controls. So does this mean that whoever buys it then gets the uplift in value for free that flows from Central to Eveleigh pushing up floor-space around the site? Why not wait until C2E process is completed rather than flogging it off now? The Frank Knight brochure says that in addition to the three development sites at RWA heights and floor space “Substantial value-add opportunities exist across ATP, including many spaces that can be developed or converted to attract new business.”

Looking at how developers have pushed up heights and floor space above controls and concept plan levels at Frazer’s Broadway and Green Square locals in Alexandria who were impacted by the Channel 7 building are hardly likely to welcome the site passing from Government to a private developer.

What are the Heritage Implications of the Sale

This is not clear to us from the scant answer in the FAQs who ask  Will the heritage of the site be affected by the sale? A: ATP forms part of the former Eveleigh Railway and Locomotive Workshops State Heritage Register listing, and a Conservation Management Plan has been prepared for ATP and endorsed by the NSW Heritage Council. The industrial heritage of the Park is important to ATP’s identity, and any future owners of the Park will be statutorily obliged to maintain and manage the site’s heritage items and buildings as listed on the State Heritage Register in accordance with the Heritage Act, 1977. The EOI will ask prospective owners to demonstrate their capacity and experience in relation to heritage matters.

REDWatch’s main concern with privatisation was its implications for the heritage that is retained at the park. As we understand it state bodies have stricter requirements concerning heritage than heritage held by private bodies. While we have been successful in pushing ATP and UG predecessors to see Heritage as an asset rather than a liability we remain unconvinced that increasing property prices will change that balance for a private owner. Will UG indicative development flythrough be used by a buyer to argue that they should be able to remove key heritage buildings on the site as indicatively done by UG? What happens to proposals to try and interpret the former Eveleigh Railway site as one precinct when a large part of it drops from Government ownership. REDWatch is of the view that the members of the earlier Redfern Waterloo Heritage Taskforce should be bought together to explore these issues as a matter of urgency. The City of Sydney Council said they would do this if the Minister did not – now is the time for the City implement its resolution on this matter.

Clarification needed for public spaces at ATP

The EOI involves the sale of the Vice Chancellors Green, Innovation Plaza, the walkway from Alexandria to Redfern Station, the tennis courts and other public accessible spaces. UG needs to urgently clarify what is proposed as part of the sale process about the sale of these currently public spaces.

Ideally a Govt body interested in listening to and working with local communities would have put in the public domain the answer to these and other questions raised in the July consultation. Regrettably they have not and they need to do so ASAP if they want to have a constructive relationship with resident groups around the site like REDWatch.

Geoffrey Turnbull - Spokesperson

Email from UrbanGrowth NSW

I wanted to inform you that the NSW Government is seeking Expression of Interest (EOI) to confirm market interest in the Australian Technology Park (ATP). This is a continuation of the well established intention that began in 2013.  The sale could enable further development consistent with the vision in the Major Development SEPP 2005 and to release the capital locked in the asset, including for possible reinvestment in the transformation of the Central to Eveleigh corridor. THE EOI will include requirements for continued public access to and through the Park, and that any developments embrace the commercial, heritage and conservation attributes of the Park and contribute positively to the surrounding community. 

For your information please find

• attached the Expression of Interest form.
• The link to the brochure on the Knight Frank website  Australian Technology Park IM

For more information visit the ATP website or please contact me if you have any further queries.

Regards,

Vanessa Gordon
Project Communications Advisor