4.7 Former Local Court House & Police Station Final

4.7 Former Local Court House and Redfern Police Station

The former Local Court House and Police Station site is located at 103 Redfern Street. The site is bounded by Redfern Street to the north, Turner Street to the south, and retail and residential uses to the east and west.

Existing characteristics

The site is approximately 0.25 hectares in area and is occupied by the former Court House and Redfern Police Station buildings. The Local Court House building fronts Redfern Street and is identified as a heritage item in the South Sydney Local Environmental Plan. It is a significant building element in the Redfern Street streetscape. Access to an existing laneway on the western boundary of the site is closed.

Both the Local Court House and the Police Station buildings are currently vacant. As a result they do not contribute to the activation of either Redfern or Turner Streets. The Court House is an iconic building in Redfern Street and sits in the streetscape with a number of other important public buildings.

To the rear of the site is the Police Station Building, which comprises 2 storeys and is accessed via Turner Street. The building does not warrant retention.

A group of terrace houses are located south of the site on the opposite side of Turner Street.

Redfern Street is characterised by retail and commercial uses.

Existing land use zone

The site is zoned ‘Special Uses - Police’ under the South Sydney LEP. Permissible uses in the zone are limited to a Police Station, as well as permissible uses in adjacent zones (in this case residential and business zones).

Proposed land use concept

Predominantly business and community uses (such as a community health facility) in the former Local Court House building and Police Station.

Diagram 4.13 (pdf ~421kb) illustrates the proposed land use concept for the site.

Proposed design concept

Respond to character and built form of surrounding development with transition from 3 storeys along Turner Street up to 6 storeys.

Protect the heritage of the site by:

• identifying heritage items on the site in accordance with the Heritage Strategy in Section 3.5
• retaining the former Local Court House building and facilitating its adaptive reuse in a manner that is sensitive to the existing structure and its heritage significance
• ensuring that new car parking is below ground level
• ensuring new development to the rear of the site responds to the heritage significance of the former Local Court House
• ensuring that the form and massing of new development at the rear of the site does not visually dominate the former Local Court House as viewed from Redfern Street
• providing adequate separation between the former Court House and new development at the rear.

Activate the public domain and site frontages to Redfern Street and Turner Street by:

• retaining and reinterpreting the former Local Court House forecourt area along Redfern Street and its importance as a formal setting for the building
• reinforcing the original building entry area with appropriate landscape design, lighting and materials
• building to the street boundary along Turner Street to reinforce the existing built form and provide surveillance to the street
• discourage blank facades and extensive car parking entry and servicing areas along public streets.

The provision and configuration of open space is to:

• be in accordance with the Open Space and Public Domain Strategy in Section 3.3
• provide a high level of residential amenity for new developments by providing adequate private and communal open space within and around new development sites
• be located and designed to achieve a high level of privacy and separation between dwellings
• be provided for in all new dwellings
• be adjacent to active uses to enable surveillance and maximise the safety and security of open spaces
• have good solar access
• be appropriately designed and landscaped with planting, paving, lighting, benches, and furniture.

The proposed heights and floor space ratio for the site are illustrated in Diagram 4.14 (pdf ~447kb) .

Proposed land use zone

• Business Zone - Local Centre