Housing redevelopment commences, still seeking private partner

A Master Plan was approved by the then South Sydney Council in late 2002 but was postponed while the Department of Housing sought a private partner to help with the cost. They have now decided to proceed independently while they continue that search.

The Minister for Housing, Matt Brown, has announced that $27m will be spent on demolishing the existing 106 apartments and replacing them with 40 family terrace houses with small backyards and 66 units designed specifically for seniors.

The western side of the land parcel which is bounded by Elizabeth, Phillip, Morehead and Kettle streets is expected to be sold to a developer who will be allowed to construct 158 high rise dwellings for private sale.

“This new, state-of-the-art development is great news for the people of Redfern,” says local member for Heffron, Kristina Keneally.

The Sydney City Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, also welcomes the announcement but says, “I am concerned about the future of existing tenants and keeping public housing in the inner city.” 

The Housing Minister has assured her that all of the current residents will be offered alternative housing in the area and given the opportunity to return to the new units on their completion.

Councillor Tony Pooley, who was mayor of South Sydney at the time the Master Plan was approved and a resident of Redfern, says the existing public housing is in very poor condition.

“There is no question that the accommodation has to be rebuilt,” he says. “The area was originally swamp land, there are subsidence problems and the Department of Housing is simply not able to keep up with the maintenance needed on the units.”

Cr Pooley is pleased that this model will see an overall increase in the number of bedrooms originally planned and that taxpayers will be saved the $5m spent every ten years on maintenance costs.

Long-term Waterloo Department of Housing tenant, Ross Smith, is more sceptical of the project outcomes for the Redfern residents. Mr Smith says that while Department officers have spoken to many tenants on a house-by-house basis, he is doubtful they will organise a general meeting where issues can be aired publicly.

“We all recognise the need for change but there should be genuine consultation between the residents and the Department,” Mr Smith says. “Many of these people have lived in this complex for three or four generations and while they have been told they can return there is a ‘fishhook’ in the wording.

“In the Minto redevelopment the change of unit sizes meant that the new housing was not always ‘appropriate to their needs’ and some tenants had to move away from a community which they had been part of for a long time.”

There is also a concern that the proposal will allow different building standards for the new private and public dwellings. The private section will be populated by high-rises with greener common spaces and a more appealing streetscape, according to Mr Smith.

“There is a line drawn down the middle of the road with the disadvantaged on one side and the wealthier on the other. This is not following State Government policy of ‘salt and peppering’ those in need of assisted housing into the general community,” he says.

The South Sydney PCYC, which occupies adjoining land owned by the Department of Housing, will not be affected by the project. They have been offered a lengthy renewal of their lease and a choice of relocating to the former Redfern Public School site recently redeveloped by the Indigenous Land Council.

The problem may be that if the need for repairs and ongoing maintenance forces the PCYC to move from the immediate housing estate area, it may be difficult for many of the youth it serves to follow.

Source: South Sydney Herald June 2007 www.southsydneyherald.com.au/