Irene Doutney on Redfern Business Study

There is a very strange juxtaposition when you look at these two studies. The Newtown Study is of a prosperous, thriving system of mainstreets that need very little real help to achieve their goals – most have already been achieved and only need a bit of tweaking.

Then on the other hand you have Redfern which must have one of the most under used and uninviting shopping strips in the LGA.

Redfern St despite its upgrade has seen business decline and there is no night life to speak of that enlivens the street – it is dead except for a bit of activity around Dominos Pizza on the corner of George and Redfern Sts.

The heritage building on the opposite corner has been empty since the Post Office moved and needs to be activated if we want to enrich the area. We should be negotiating with the owners to utilise the space instead of leaving it empty.

It could be a perfect spot for an Aboriginal Art Gallery and Bookshop which could be the focal point for emerging Aboriginal enterprises in the area.

Earlier in the year I had a conversation with the Manager of the Boomali Coop of Aboriginal artists and they were desperate to relocate back into Redfern. A shopfront or gallery of some sort that sold the work of these artists could begin the process of making Redfern a place for real contemporary Aboriginal culture.

We should look at seed funding to help these successful and emerging Aboriginal enterprises relocate to Redfern.

Similarly if we choose the right applicant we could have an invigorated and exciting space in our property between the Aboriginal Medical Service and the new Community Health Centre.

This could really kick start local arts in the area and create a hub for local artists and young people with a community vision.

Again there is an application with Council to hold monthly markets in Redfern Park which could also become a crowd pulling event along the lines of the Surry Hills Markets which over time led to the rebirth of Crown St.

We could look at encouraging vintage clothes shops and secondhand books that would be popular with both the local Housing NSW residents and the growing number of young students and artists who are moving into the area.

We could encourage a lot more footpath cafes along both streets and a few small bars could work really well with the growing gay and student population. This would bring some life to the streets and dispel the perception that the area is unsafe.

However, as long as we have a streetscape full of roller doors and graffitteed shutters the area will battle with the perception of danger.

I passed the factory clothes outlet on the corner of Regent and Redfern Sts this morning and I noticed that the building which straddles both streets had at least 6 roller doors making it a very unfriendly entrance into the heart of Redfern.

We really have to put some energy into getting shopowners to remove or paint their shutters and roller doors. Unless we do something to brighten these shutters the area will remain a dead zone at night and on the weekends which really hurts its business potential.

We could run a competition to harness the local street artists to beautify the shutters – there used to be 2 large areas for street art – at the Cope St car park and along the walls of the Redfern School – both have been removed due to redevelopments.

The study talks constantly of creating a theme for Redfern around Indigenous culture but there is an underlying contradiction with this aspiration and the reality of discrimination and disadvantage among local Aboriginal people. This is an issue that needs to be discussed seriously if the strategy is to have any hope of being more than a further exploitation of the local community.

The extent of this problem can be seen in statements from leasing agents for the area (p46 point 4 first dot point) who claimed it was hard to lease properties because of the “poor reputation of the suburb, especially crime, safety, beggars/loiterers, anti-social behaviour on the streets and Indigenous Australians.”

These are sobering remarks and can never be underestimated when trying to meet all expectations for the area. As each new development comes on line we will see a big change in the demographics of the area and we must ensure that existing residents on low incomes, pensions, with disabilities and of Aboriginal descent are not disadvantaged in the gentrification process.

It is a matter of first priority that the business coordinator for the area be appointed and given a brief to work exclusively on rejuvenating Redfern and Waterloo in consultation with businesses, social services, residents, and the RWA.

The input of local Aboriginal stakeholders and Council’s ATSI Advisory Panel should be part of that consultation.

We need to remember the working class heart of Redfern and Waterloo and the industries that employed those workers…..the many redevelopments should include this history in their design and artworks.

The Targeted Tenancy Plan must be developed in consultation with stakeholders and the community and courageous action needs to be taken to help these new tenants find and maintain tenancies.

We need to pursue the idea of changing Regent and Gibbons Sts back to two way traffic and find ways to advertise the free bus service to the Carraigeworks markets so that we strengthen the links between the two sides of the railway.

The revitalisation of Redfern is a priority and must not just be accepted and noted it must be implemented and the recommendations of the study taken up as a matter of priority.

That is:

-         the appointment of a business coordinator

-         the creation of a Targeted Tenancy Plan

-         the creation of a branding and communications strategy

-         negotiations with the RWA to help implement the strategy

What we do now will pave the way for a lively future as more people come into the area and large scale developments like those planned for the RSL and its neighbour in Gibbons St will provide a large market for the local businesses we begin today.