More information on this development can be found on the Department of Planning website SSD-51274973 600-660 Elizabeth Street, Redfern - Mixed Use.

As the documents are all mixed up on the planning portal you may want to also have a look at the REDWatch website page where we made some initial comments and provided a list of unscrambled documents and links - 660 Elizabeth St Redfern (PCYC site) Redevelopment - Exhibition until 4 December 2024.

You can see the media release from Bridge Housing on the REDWatch website under New DA with ambition to deliver more social and affordable housing in Redfern. There is also general information on Bridge’s Redfern Place Development Proposal page and the Homes NSW / NSW Land and Housing Corporation's Redfern Place web page. Construction is planned to begin late 2025 before completion in early 2028.

You can download a flyer for this event from Elizabeth Street & PCYC Redfern Plan Explained REDWatch Meeting 26 Nov 24 Flyer

Council officers currently are compiling a cross-disiplinary list of initiatives completed, underway or budgeted in each area as an initial frame for what is going on locally. Brochures that include these lists should be on the website mid-January.

The village plans themselves will come together over the coming four or five months with input/suggestions/vision from groups like REDWatch and others in the community about projects where communities would like support or facilitation, or ideas that form part of a longer term vision for the community, things that may have been missed etc.

The timing at this stage is that we will be compiling all the suggestions /proposals over January and February, community forums will be run in each area in March, and draft plans will go to Council around May (and be exhibited for community comment) .

You can find out about the new "Village Groups" and how to make a submission at www.2030inyourvillage.com.au. You can also make a submission by filling in this form. 

One of the first studies done on the new boundaries was the Redfern Street Village Centre study (PDF 445Kb)

Council has circulated the flyer below to encourage community involvement. Please note that the wording used below was incorrect and there are as yet no finalised 'preliminary plans' these as explained above are expected in mid January.

2030 in Your Village

The City of Sydney includes diverse villages and neighbourhoods, each known for their distinctive characteristics.

These villages and neighbourhoods are at the heart of our Sustainable Sydney 2030 plan. When developing the plan, we envisioned them as places where you can walk or ride a bike for most of the shops and services you need, take time out in a leafy park or enjoy a community event.

We invite you to be involved in planning the next stage of the future of your neighbourhood and village.

Our villages are as equally important for the culture and economy of our city as the CBD.

In 2005/2006, we developed Local Action Plans (LAP) in consultation with you to honour our City of Villages commitment. Most LAP projects are underway or complete, including new facilities, parks and street improvements.

We again consulted in 2007 to develop Sustainable Sydney 2030 – our long term vision to make Sydney environmentally, economically, socially
and culturally sustainable.

Many new residents and businesses have made Sydney their home since 2007. As the City develops new community-based projects we again invite
you to work with us.

We have prepared preliminary plans for discussion and comment.

They reflect our work so far and capture what we already know about your neighbourhood.

You can see them at www.2030inyourvillage.com.au and follow the prompts to have your say or send your feedback to City of Sydney Village Planning Team, Town Hall House, 456 Kent Street, Sydney NSW 2000.

Following your comment and feedback, we will prepare draft plans to discuss with you at a workshop in early 2012. After the workshops, we will
develop proposals for Council’s consideration and funding in future budgets.

Clover Moore MP Lord Mayor

Many of the 10 village groups the City of Sydney has identified share a major main street. Village groups will help Council manage how they work to provide services and fairly allocate funding. The Ten village Groups are:

• CBD & Harbour
• Chinatown & CBD South
• Crown & Baptist Streets
• Glebe Point Road
• Green Square & City South
• Harris Street
• King Street
• Macleay Street & Woolloomooloo
• Oxford Street
• Redfern Street

The CME building, is listed as a State Heritage item (Item #01139) under the Heritage Act 1977. It is a two-storey masonry and brick building in the Victorian style built in 1887 and subsequently extended in 1900 and 1920 to accommodate the expansion of NSW railways and demand for engineering services within the area. It was the primary administrative building for the whole Eveleigh Railway Workshops (ERW) housing the office of the Chief Mechanical Engineer as well as ordinary engineers, overseers, inspectors and various clerical staff. 

It currently contains 32 rooms and 3 bathrooms across two levels. Room sizes vary, with rooms at the eastern and western sides of the building being larger and the central rooms being smaller. Heritage fabric within the rooms include fireplaces, ceiling and wall detailing and cabinetry. Minor internal alterations over the years to these rooms included the addition of lighting and false ceilings, wall partitions and cabinetry. The site also includes an existing garden to the east of the CME building which has been left un-kept for several years. This area is known as the Eastern Gardens. 

The Development Application on exhibition proposes restoration of the building and alterations to make it suitable for current day use. Proposed works comprise new internal walls, doors, a lift, amenities, windows and new balustrades. Landscaping is proposed to improve the curtilage around the CME building and ensure the building is more accessible while retaining all trees on the site. New in-ground services including a new stormwater system and new sewer connection are also proposed. 

The questions for this exhibition relate to the trade-off between the original heritage values of this important heritage item and what is considered necessary to make it suitable for reuse. It’s about the appropriateness of the adaptive reuse and if Burra Charter conservation principles have been applied.  

Given that this exhibition is about the impact of the work on this heritage listed building, it is of major concern that the Conservation Management Plan (CMP) for the CME’s building, which the EIS says was prepared in 2022 has not been placed on exhibition with the other documents.  

Instead we have a Statement of Heritage Impact, as well as an Aboriginal Heritage Due Diligence and a Historical Archaeological Assessment. Appendix B of the Statement of Heritage Impact, has a table assessment against the CME’s CMP Policies but the CMP itself has not been released.  

The first policy referenced in the CME CMP Policy assessment section states: “The present CMP should be used as the principal document to guide the conservation and management of the CME Building. This CMP should be adopted by TAHE and TfNSW”. Presumably the 2022 CMP that is supposed to be the principle document governing what happens to the CME’s building has not yet been adopted by TAHE and TfNSW.  

Nor it would appear that TAHE and TfNSW are prepared to publically exhibit the CMP to gain feedback from the community. This is a major concern. While CMPs for South Eveleigh were released for comment and are publically available, TfNSW has not released CMPs for Redfern Station, nor now for the CME building. 

Appendix B of the Statement of Heritage Impact also assesses the proposed changes to the CME building against the Overarching CMP which was released as part of the Paint Shop Precinct documents and can be seen - Updated Eveleigh Railway Workshops Overarching Conservation Management Plan and Addendum to Eveleigh Railway Workshop Overarching Conservation Management Plan. 

REDWatch has argued since the Redfern Waterloo Authority was established in 2004 that the CME Building should be restored and bought to an appropriate use rather than left to deteriorate until the fate of the rest of North Eveleigh was determined. It is pleasing to see this is now happening, even if it has allowed almost 20 years unnecessary decay. What is of concern is that not all the relevant documents to do the adaptive use assessment required in this DA have been released. 

TfNSW has run a Registration of Interest (ROI) process to gauge interest in moving into the building and is currently near the end of its Expression of Interest (EOI) process. The changes proposed in this DA are to make the building suitable for whoever gains the building to be able to move in. Depending on the activity of the successful applicant, a use DA may be required. 

The main summary document for this exhibition is CME Final EIS. This document includes up to Appendix E, The rest of the appendices as separate documents that can be downloaded from the exhibition page for 505 Wilson Street, Redfern - CME Building. 

Below REDWatch has prepared a guide to the documents in the order used by the EIS to help people easily find the report they are interested in.

Exhibition Documents – direct links

Please note that since the exhibition started TfNSW have supplied some reports also in a form that meets Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). These files contain WCAG after their name and have the same content as the non WCAG versions. 

Chief Mechanical Engineer’s Building Environmental Impact Statement (Main Document)

• Appendix A - Secretary’s environmental assessment requirements checklist CME FINAL EIS page 90
• Appendix B - Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021 checklist CME FINAL EIS page 96
• Appendix C - Statutory compliance table CME FINAL EIS page 99
• Appendix D - Stakeholder and community engagement table CME FINAL EIS page 102
• Appendix E - Environmental management measures CME FINAL EIS page 105
• Appendix F.1 Architectural Drawings
• Appendix F.2 Survey Plan
• Appendix G.1 Architectural Design Report
• Appendix G.2 Finishes Schedule
• Appendix H Landscape Drawings
• Appendix I BCA Report
• Appendix J Preliminary Site Investigation
• Appendix K BDAR Waiver & Cover Letter
• Appendix L.1 Statement of Heritage Impact 
• Appendix L.2 Historical Archaeological Assessment
• Appendix M Traffic Transport & Accessibility Study
• Appendix N Sustainability Report
• Appendix O Energy & Thermal Assessment
• Appendix P Acoustic Assessment
• Appendix Q Social Impact Assessment
• Appendix R Engagement Report
• Appendix S Access Capability Statement
• Appendix T.1 Arboricultural Impact Assessment Report 
• Appendix T.2 Aboricultural Plans
• Appendix U Hazardous Materials Survey Report
• Appendix V Pre Refurbishment Hazardous Materials Survey Report
• Appendix W Waste Management Plan
• Appendix X Integrated Water Management Plan
• Appendix Y Aboriginal Heritage Due Diligence
• Appendix Z.1 Concept Design Report
• Appendix Z.2 Electrical Services drawings
• Appendix Z.3 Fire Services drawings
• Appendix Z.4 Hydraulic Services drawings
• Appendix Z.5Mechanical Services drawings
• Appendix AA Environmental Cleaning Summary Letter
• Appendix BB Structural Drawings

Conservation Management Plan - At the end of the Exhibition TfNSW also released the Conservation Management Plan for the CME building. The direct links for these files are:

• CMECMP Final draft revised 16.2.23 - this is the main CMP report 213 pages
• CME Inventory Datasheets 3.2.23 – there is a data sheet for each room in the building and a grading of its significance - 419 pages
• CMP CME APPENDIX A - Historical Context – 50 pages
• CMP CME APPENDIX B - Physical Condition 9.1.23 – This report contains both the Condition Report and the Schedule of Conservation Works including a room by room analysis. It also includes an incomplete References section - 419 pages 

Site Context and SEARS

• Early Consultation - Site context
• Request for SEARs - 24 March 2022
• SEARS COVER LETTER 505 WILSON ST_SSD-39971796
• SEARS 505 WILSON ST_SSD-39971796

Produced by REDWatch 28 Jan 2023 Updated 21 Feb 2023

The exhibition will consist of almost 7,000 competition entries from various photographers from Australia and New Zealand who competed in the recent Canon EOS Photo5 competition. All of these images will also be printed on Canon’s PIXMA printer range.

“This year we’re taking the World of EOS Photo5 competition and its impressive imagery even further by bringing it to life for people to experience in the real world,” said Chris Macleod, brand manager – EOS, Canon Australia.

“The exhibition will celebrate the creativity and passion of all Australian and New Zealand participants and, with a huge 7000 images on display; it should be a real spectacle.”

The Canon EOS Photo5 competition was designed to inspire photographers to express themselves creatively through photography. Participants received a box with four everyday objects and were challenged to capture these objects using a variety of photographic techniques.

To find out more about the entries that will be on display at the exhibition consumer are encouraged to visit the competition website

Please promote the Open day by printing off the Poster for ATP's Blacksmith Shop Open Day - 17th August 2008 (1MB PDF) and promoting it.

Apart from turning up to the Open Day you can support the retention of the ATP’s active heritage Blacksmith Shop by lobbying for its continuation of the Blacksmith shop. Details on who to lobby can be found at Persons to Lobby over Proposal to Remove Wrought Artworks from ATP. Background documents can be found on the web at www.redwatch.org.au/RWA/statesignificant/atp/blacksmith.

The park on the corner of Abercrombie and Shepherd Streets is a well loved and heavily used pocket park in the heart of Darlington. The park provides local residents, families, university students and workers from nearby businesses with access to vital green space.
As part of the City’s ongoing commitment to renew important small parks across our Local Government Area, the project will provide quality open space for the whole community to enjoy.
A key element of the park is the existing playground. The City plans to replace the equipment with an exciting recreation facility for children up to 12 years old. The park also provides an important place for dog owners to currently exercise their pets off leash after 6.00pm.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

We are considering the following renewal options:
Park structure –
• improved access from Abercrombie Street
• large usable grass areas
• increased shade
• new trees.
Park facilities –
• bigger playground area with a broader range of equipment
• new trees and plants
• new park furniture.

PROJECT TIMELINE

Community consultation: November – December 2008

Early 2009

Early 2009

Construction: Mid 2009

For wet weather information call 9265 9333.

The proposal contains some significant changes from Bridge’s initial presentation to REDWatch on 2 March 2023. Bridge have dropped the 100 proposed private apartments from the scheme  and are now proposing only social and affordable housing on the site in addition to a new PCYC, Bridge’s offices and 11 disability / carer units. The application states that if financing for the affordable housing does not eventuate they will submit a new DA. The current estimated development cost is $213,606,722 (excluding GST).

There is no information we can see that details what kind of affordable housing is proposed. The initial proposal contained both affordable housing linked to income as well as discount off market housing which was only proposed to be affordable for 10 years.

The documents propose an increase of 24 units on the site to bring the total to 355. The 100 private units have been replaced by 77 extra affordable and 47 extra social. Given that Homes NSW only required 100 units on the site it is not clear if the extra 47 will be part of the Homes deal or if Bridge Housing will own and operate some themselves. The initial proposal was that the Homes NSW social housing units would be operated by the Waterloo successful tendering. As the consortium Bridge was part of withdrew from the Waterloo tender, there is the possibility that while Bridge might build these Units they may now be operated by the successful Waterloo tender.

The proposal includes an application (Appendix E) for a slight increase in height over the edge of one building as well as a request for additional floor space allowance (Appendix F). The figures on the latter are not clear due to the need to juggle site FSR’s of 1.5:1, allowance for the community facility 0.57:1), a 10% design excellence allowance and a BASIX water allowance (0.15:1) that the says the site does not meet. The FSR requested is 2.442:1 which the application says is an increase of 6.75% if they had met the BASIX targets.

Obviously REDWatch has not had a chance to go through the documents in detail and we will approach Bridge for clarification and see if we can arrange a community meeting where Bridge can brief the community on their proposal and ask any questions. The short exhibition time means that it falls between our November AGM tonight and the first Thursday in December.

Below is our list of the Documents for SSD-51274973 600-660 Elizabeth Street, Redfern - Mixed Use. in order so they match those in the Environment Impact Statement:

More information will be added as more information becomes available.