28 July 2006

In This Update

RWA Human Services Plan - Phase 2 Forum

RWA Issues July 2006 Update newsletter

New Alcohol Free Zones come into effect in Redfern

Redfern Oval & Park Plans Raise some Concerns

City of Sydney Draft Heritage Development Control Plan (DCP) 2006

Redfern Local Area Traffic Management Meetings – East 29^th July & West 8^th August

Eveleigh Street Precinct Parks proposals for artworks

Redfern and Regent Streets Upgrade Meeting Wednesday 2^nd August 2006

REDWatch Meeting Wednesday – 6:00 pm Wednesday 2^nd August 2006

CUB Site Meeting organised by Combined Chippendale Groups – 6:30pm Wednesday  2^nd August

Rally in Support of Housing on The Block – Thursday 10^th August 6.30 pm

Heritage Productivity Report

Essential Sydney – Benchmarking our city

Media Notes

Coming Events (entered on the REDWatch website)

RWA Human Services Plan - Phase 2 Forum

Around 100 people turned up the RWA’s Phase 2 Forum on July 24^th and 25^th 2006. The RWA is concerned about making available the names of those who attended, but we have provided a list of the organisations represented in each of the discussion groups (Workshop Participant List RWA Human Services Forum Phase 2 - 24 July 2006) so you have a feel for the make up of the forum. Discussion centred around the issues raised in the RWA’s Issues Papers and in identifying areas which had been omitted. We have also placed the consolidated Consolidated Summary Document from Day 1 HSP Phase 2 Forum (File is 1.1 MB PDF) on the REDWatch site of what emerged from the first day of discussions. On the second day the discussion groups met to further refine the Day One report. The RWA will post this on their website along with submissions to the Forum (you can see the submissions people have sent to REDWatch in the meantime at http://www.redwatch.org.au/RWA/humanservices/phase2paper/ ). The RWA will draft up the Human Services Plan Phase Two using the input from the forum.

RWA Issues July 2006 Update newsletter

The RWA has issued a new RWA Update for July 2006. The Update aims to update the community on the RWA recent initiatives in Redfern Waterloo that have earlier been announced in media releases but which have not been widely disseminated in the Redfern Waterloo community. The Update focuses primarily on the Chanel 7 decision to move production facilities into the ATP, the recent release of the Employment and Enterprise Plan and associated initiatives and the release of the ILC Plans for the former Redfern School site. A text version is available on the REDWatch website at Redfern-Waterloo UPDATE July 2006 (Text Version) and a PDF version should appear in the near future on the RWA site at http://www.redfernwaterloo.nsw.gov.au/publications/newsletters.htm.

New Alcohol Free Zones come into effect in Redfern

City of Sydney Council advises that The Alcohol Free Zones will be effective upon installation of signage which is expected to be completed by Friday 28 July.  The zones will be active until 2 July 2009. We have seen the signage around Redfern Station and it leaves a lot to be desired. For a start there is a sign indicating that there is an AFZ on Lawson St in front of Redfern Station that does not exist. There is no sign as you enter Lawson Square from the station to indicate that there is an AFZ near the police cars. It is not apparent walking out of the station towards the RSL Club that you are entering an AFZ. After you pass the RSL club there is a sign that says there is an AFZ towards Railz rather than also from where you have come! When heading back to Redfern Railway Station there is a sign at the end of the AFZ which indicates that there is an AFZ to the south down Gibbons Street which exists only for about 10 metres and then stops without a sign. Hopefully the signage around the rest of Redfern is more accurate than that around the Police Station. Just to clarify; immediately around the Police Station the only place where it is legal to drink is in Gibbons St directly in front of the Police Station main entrance! There is no AFZ around the Railway station.

It will be an offence to drink alcohol on any street or footpath where an Alcohol Free Zone exists, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Any existing or future footpath area licensed by the City for the purpose of food or alcohol consumption as part of a café or restaurant will be exempt from these restrictions. The NSW Police are responsible for enforcing Alcohol Free Zones. Redfern Police can be contacted on 8303 5199. If you would like to speak to a council officer regarding Alcohol Free Zones, you can contact Rebecca Martin on 9265 9477 or at remartin@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au . The map of the Redfern LAC AFZs can be downloaded from the CoS sites Redfern Map | PDF 265Kb.

Redfern Oval & Park Plans Raise some Concerns

After months of planning behind the scenes the Council’s consultants have made public their proposals for Redfern Oval and Park. The report goes to City of Sydney Environment and Heritage Committee on Monday 31 July 2006 with the recommendation that the plans go out to public exhibition. There was a round of meetings in the early stages with interested groups to find out what they wanted from the redevelopment, but the subsequent meeting with stakeholders was very much a presentation of what those working on the project planned to propose to Council with little opportunity to work through outstanding concerns. Even at this late stage some further clarification of aspects of the proposal and discussions with interested groups may resolve some concerns and result in a more amicable community consultation on the proposals.

The result is that resident’s group “Our Park” says that the proposal to go to Council committee does not currently have their support. They say that the draft plan of management does not comply with the Council’s earlier resolution and that there are major questions about how the plan will be implemented which have not been covered in the report or discussed with residents. At the meeting on Monday “Our Park” will propose that these issues should be addressed with residents and stakeholders before the Council puts the plans out to consultation. We do not know if other stakeholders have similar concerns or if the concerns are confined to some residents, however we expect all football clubs will be hard pressed to find the scoreboards they require in the current plan. While the plan tries hard to be all things to all people, it is difficult to see how competing interests for use will be handled; be it the need to limit the use of the playing surface to keep it at the standard required or the denial of access to the jogging track and hard court areas on weekends when the Oval is closed for football use. Ian Thomson from “Our Park” has circulated some brief notes from his initial reading of the Council documents which can be found on the REDWatch website at Some Initial Our Park Comments on the Consultants Redfern Oval / Park Proposal.

The City of Sydney has updated http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/Development/CityImprovements/RedfernParkUpgrade.asp to reflect the new proposals and an artist’s impression of the new oval can be seen here. The draft plan and associated committee documents can be downloaded from Environment and Heritage Committee. Those wishing to address the committee meeting on Monday need to register to speak by 12 midday on Monday 31^st July 2006 by ringing the Council’s secretariat on 9265 9310 and should consult the Guidelines for Speakers at Council Committees.

City of Sydney Draft Heritage Development Control Plan (DCP) 2006

The Proposal for the exhibition of the City of Sydney Draft Heritage Development Control Plan (DCP) 2006 goes before the Planning, Development and Transport Committee of Council at about 5.30pm on Monday 31 July 2006 in the Council Chamber of the Town Hall. Should you wish to address the committee meeting it will be necessary for you to register your name by telephoning the Committee Secretary, Lyndal Roots, on 9265-9310 by no later than 12.00 noon on the Monday of the committee meeting. Copies of the Business Paper, including the report to the committee regarding the Draft Heritage Development Control Plan (DCP) 2006 – Proposed Exhibition is available from the City’s Service Centres or from the council’s website at Draft Heritage Development Control Plan - Proposed Exhibition | PDF 60Kb and Attachment A | PDF 7Mb.

Redfern Local Area Traffic Management Meetings – East 29^th July & West 8^th August

The City of Sydney is undertaking a local area traffic management study of Redfern. The consultants Arup Transport Planning are looking for comments and concerns regarding traffic movements or residential safety due to local traffic in Redfern. Submissions close Friday 25 August 2006 and comments can be sent by email to redfernlatm@arup.com.au, faxed to 02 9320 9321 or posted to Arup Transport Planning, PO Box 76,. Millers Point NSW 2000.

Two meetings for Redfern residents to look at local traffic issues have been arranged. For the purpose of the forums the area of Redfern between Gibbons and South Dowling Sts has been divided at Elizabeth St.

For streets east of Elizabeth St through to South Dowling St there will be an East Redfern Local Area Traffic Management Meeting on Saturday 29 July 2006 2–4pm Redfern Town Hall 73 Pitt St Redfern. More information and the Community Meeting Invitation can be downloaded from the City of Sydney website here.

Redfern west of Gibbons Str will be considered with Darlington at the West Redfern Local Area Traffic Management Meeting on Tuesday 8 August 2006 6-8pm Redfern Town Hall 73 Pitt St Redfern. More information and the Community Meeting Invitation can be downloaded from the City of Sydney website here.

With the release of the Redfern Park / Oval Plan we suspect there may just be a few questions about how the traffic from this will be handled given that this is missing from the proposed management plan going before council committee on Monday.

Eveleigh St Precinct Parks proposals for artworks

We and others living around Eveleigh St received less than a day’s notice of a “Community Consultation Meeting” seeking feedback and potential involvement regarding the public art proposals for the Eveleigh St Precinct Parks. We only heard about the meeting indirectly and found that a lot of others did not know about it. We have passed on our concern about the lack of notice. Artists were to talk about their designs at the meeting and we understand that visuals were to be displayed at the Redfern Community Centre with a comments book if you did not make it to the meeting. If you want to find out more about what happened at the meeting contact Tracey Duncan for further information on 9288 5713.

Redfern and Regent Sts Upgrade Meeting Wednesday 2^nd August 2006

On the topic of short notice there will be a community update meeting on Redfern and Regent St on Wednesday 2 August 2006 from 6.00pm – 7.30pm at Redfern Town Hall

73 Pitt St, Redfern. The meeting is to update people on the commencement of work on the upgrade. Leaflets should be out soon and a notice should also appear on the Council’s website at http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/Development/CityImprovements/RedfernAndRegentStreetUpgrade.asp.

REDWatch Meeting Wednesday – 6:00 pm Wednesday 2^nd August 2006

REDWatch has its monthly meeting on 2^nd August at the Factory Community Centre. There will be no special speaker this month. Instead we will receive reports back from the RWA Human Services Phase 2 Forum, the ILC School launch, plans for a rally on Thursday 10^th August in support of The Block housing project and the imminent release of the Built Environment Plan. REDWatch will meet downstairs at The Factory, 67 Raglan Street Waterloo.

CUB Site Meeting organised by Combined Chippendale Groups – 6:30pm Wednesday  2^nd August

As we mentioned last Update the Combined Chippendale Groups met with Minister Sartor. They will be holding a meeting on Wednesday, 2 August at the Thurles Castle Hotel (corner of Balfour and Cleveland Streets) to brief the community about the CUB site as well as present an exciting proposal for a high volume pedestrian-cyclist route through Chippendale.  As part of the consultation process, a Stakeholder Reference Panel has been set up with community representatives invited to join the Panel. With the first Panel meeting scheduled for early August, Wednesday’s meeting is looking to identify issues and concerns that should be taken to the Panel.   

Rally in Support of Housing on The Block – Thursday 10^th August 6.30 pm

Hopefully you noticed the mistake last update – the rally on The Block is on Thursday 10th August.

The protest will begin outside the State Government’s Redfern Waterloo Authority (RWA) offices (1 Lawson Square, Redfern) at 6:30pm. Protesters will then march to The Block, where Isabel Coe of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy will conduct a ceremony around a “sacred fire” that symbolises unity amongst those in attendance.

The protest will end with a series of speeches from community leaders including champion boxer Anthony Mundine and Aboriginal Tent Embassy founder Michael Anderson. Other speakers will include Isabel Coe, Mick Mundine, Redfern’s Aboriginal pastor Ray Minniecon and the Bishop of Gippsland John McIntyre.

More details can be found in the Aboriginal Housing Company media release of 25 July 2006 in which Mick Mundine and Isabel Coe have called for supporters of Aboriginal housing on The Block to attend a historic protest against the NSW Government on August 10^th Black and White unite to keep The Block in Aboriginal hands. REDWatch also supports the Rally to keep The Block in Aboriginal Hands. The poster for the Rally can be downloaded here - Keep the Block in Aboriginal Hands Poster JPG 82Kb.

For further information or media inquiries, contact:

Peter Valilis, Aboriginal Housing Company, 0400 804 022

Isabel Coe, Aboriginal Tent Embassy, 0423 647 695

Trevor Davies, ALP Darlington branch secretary, 0400 008 338

Lyn Turnbull, Redfern Residents for Reconciliation, 0418 655 246

Heritage Productivity Report

Economic Rationalism meets Heritage Preservation in a report many, with a concern about the preservation of heritage, hope will gather dust rather than be implemented. The Productivity Commission has completed its final report into heritage issues and its recommendations include: the use of negotiated conservation agreements; additional rights for owners/developers to appeal statutory listings on the grounds of unreasonable costs where the zoning of land permits higher land value than that allowed under heritage restrictions or where it can be argued that maintenance, repair or restoration costs required to continue a property’s heritage significance impose an unjustifiable hardship; regulatory changes that free up the preservation of “redundant structures” that would otherwise be valuable development options; and removal of the requirement for heritage impact statement as part of the development application process (a critical part of any assessment in a Heritage Conservation Area such as exist in the inner city). The Productivity Commission’s report can be downloaded from http://www.pc.gov.au/inquiry/heritage/finalreport/index.html and you can also register feedback through their website.

Essential Sydney – Benchmarking our city

It arrived in our Sydney Morning Herald a few days ago and if you missed it and are not a member of Urban Design Institute of Australia NSW (http://www.udia-nsw.com.au/html/23898.cfm ) we are not sure how you can get to see a copy other than a quick visit to your local library because we can not find it on the web. According to the report’s collaborators, Professor Ed Blakely of the Planning Research Centre and Dr David Poole of UDIA, Essential Sydney will be a valuable information tool for anyone with an interest in Sydney’s global future. The plan is to produce the reports annually which will update a wide range of measures (metrics) of how Sydney is faring as a global city and to provide a common set of data around which decisions about the Metro Strategy and other policy discussions can be had. It is well worth a look if you haven’t thrown out all your recent papers or if you can find a copy somewhere.

Media Notes

Further to our comments last update on the 3801 The Daily Telegraph’s cartoonist and train enthusiast Warren Brown, ran an article Loco for 3801 to lose steam on some of the issues. Following The Daily Telegraph’s article on Monique Flannery fighting a development behind her and Frank Sartor’s home it was only a matter of time before one of the residents action groups upset by one of the Minister’s decisions decided to protest at the Minister’s private address and of course The Daily Telegraph was there to cover it Residents protest outside Sartor's home - Frankly, we do give a damn.

Also following on from last Update we have been sent an article putting the other side of the Harlem debate in response to Elliot Yancey’s article in the South Sydney Herald Harlem to Clinton: We Want You Out! . While in the USA you may recall a story last year about a Federal decision that ruled last year that municipalities could seize property for private development that public officials argue would benefit the community. While at a state level there has been quite a reaction to the Federal court decision as can be seen in the July 27 New York Times article Ohio Supreme Court Rejects Taking of Homes for Project .