RWIU 3 February 2011

In this Update:

Greetings for 2011 – Sorry RWIU missed 2010!

RWA Draft BEP2 Exhibition – Planning for the Redevelopment of HNSW Estates in Redfern & Waterloo

Sydney Metropolitan Development Authority (SMDA) takes on Planning for RWA Area

City of Sydney – City Plan (LEP & DCP) on exhibition until 4^th April 2011

Sydney University Abercrombie Street Precinct Close to Exhibition

Steps in the Recognition of Heritage

Positively Branding Redfern

Finding a Community Service

Have Your Say - Summary of Current Consultations (looks at current consultations on the REDWatch website)

Coming Events (looks at the current events listed on the REDWatch website)

Greetings for 2011 – Sorry RWIU missed 2010!

It is over a year since we last sent out a Redfern Waterloo Issues Update (RWIU). The long awaited exhibition of the RWA’s BEP2 has encouraged us to put together a brief update and to think about how to distribute information out in future. The work of producing the old updates became just too great for us given Geoff needs to work to support us and we both have other community activities we are involved in. So the all-encompassing RWIU’s have gone – you can see some of the things that happened in in 2010 from the collection RWIU 2010,

We recognise there is still a need for some mechanism to get information out to people other than via the REDWatch website. Last year REDWatch sent out emails to more targeted groups like people interested in Heritage, Human Services, Sydney University and Darlington developments, but these went only to REDWatch members & friends lists. We knew there are others with particular interests and are sorry that many will have missed news of interest to you. So for 2011 we are trying something new! We are setting up an Updates list on the REDWatch website that will allow people to receive everything or more just targeted information depending on what they want. The list is self-administering so also cuts down on our voluntary work load. You can go to the site to choose what you wish to receive, to change your email address or to remove yourself from the list – the link is at the bottom of each email.

The best way of keeping up to date broadly about Redfern & Waterloo issues is to visit the REDWatch website www.rewdwatch.org.au regularly or if you are experienced at using RSS feeds by setting up an RSS feed from the Website Changes section of the site or elsewhere as you wish. This new list will be an option for people who want key information sent to them.

RWA Draft BEP2 Exhibition – Planning for the Redevelopment of HNSW Estates in Redfern & Waterloo

On January 27 2011 the RWA released its Built Environment Plan Two (BEP2) proposals for the future of public housing in Redfern Waterloo. BEP2 also covered public housing in South Eveleigh. You can download an electronic copy of the Plan from the RWA website. The document is broken up into a number of parts so we have provided below the direct links for the different parts of the main report. Some of the figures (diagrams) within the report are difficult to read so the RWA has also placed these separately on the RWA BEP2 Webpage. From the RWA website you can download the RWA BEP2 Newsletter, (PDF 1.06MB) the BEP2 FAQs (PDF 240Kb) and a Feedback Form.

• Section 1 Overview (file size 8.92 Mb)
• Section 2 Characteristics Analysis (file size 5.73 Mb)
• Section 3 Renewal Opportunities (file size 2.37 Mb)
• Section 4 Planning Framework (file size 3 Mb)
• Section 5 Where to from here? (file size 0.29 Mb)
• Section 6 Appendices (file size 0.33 Mb) – This compares BEP2 controls, site by site, with those earlier proposed by City of Sydney
• Section 7 Appendix B: Redfern and Waterloo Traffic and Transport Context: Built Environment Plan (Stage 2) (2011) prepared by Parsons Brinckerhoff (file size 6.77 Mb)

Housing NSW has produced its own booklet for public tenants HNSW BEP2 Information Booklet for Public Tenants (PDF 1.5MB). This booklet informs HNSW tenants about the BEP2 in the context of HNSW’s federally funded Masterplan which will follow on from the RWA’s BEP2 consultation. HNSW has also set up a Redfern Waterloo section on its website. Both HNSW and the RWA are running information sessions this month and you can find the details on the REDWatch events calendar or on the RWA and HNSW websites.

REDWatch has placed a new BEP2 Consultation tab at the top of the website to cover items associated with the BEP2 exhibition. This is in addition to the Public Housing tab where REDWatch has collected a lot of information on Public Housing issues in preparation for BEP2 and the HNSW Masterplan to help resource local services and tenants. Many items in this section have been supplied to REDWatch by HNSW so they can be publically available to the community.

One of the encouraging things about the RWA BEP2 exhibition is that it is not a statutory exhibition of a proposed planning instrument. The RWA has learnt from the BEP1 complaints and has placed the Draft BEP2 on exhibition to get community feedback prior to the preparation of the final development control instrument which will be formally exhibited by the Department of Planning for a further month. This enables the community to be involved in a discussion with the RWA which potentially can change some of what is proposed before it goes on formal exhibition.

What is concerning however is that only one month has been allowed for this exhibition of the draft, and only a very few printed copies have been made available. The emphasis has been placed on electronic copies and on people coming to sessions organised by the RWA and HNSW rather than getting out into the community where people are already meeting and talking to them there. Admittedly there will be another formal change to comment on BEP2, but with the logistics of consulting on such major changes within a large and diverse public housing community there is concern that one month is just not enough time. Computer access levels are quite low among older public tenants (see 2006 Census Data Comparison of Public and Private Tenants in Redfern and Waterloo) so it is difficult to see how they will be able to go through the electronic plans. The only way many will be able to access the report is to find one of the limited number of printed exhibition copies – see Places Document can be Viewed. It is further concerning that the HNSW brochure refers public tenants to the RWA website and HNSW did not contain a summary of the details of the BEP2 proposals in their publication.

For the REDWatch BEP2 Meeting with RWA & HNSW on 3 February 2011 -6pm, REDWatch produced a brief summary of the BEP2 and we have reproduced it below.

• Plan includes a draft planning framework for the Redfern and Waterloo concentrated social housing areas and HNSW’s South Eveleigh site.
• Plan allows for redevelopment of the HNSW estates over 20-25 years
• Most High Rise to be kept with new infill buildings around some of them
• HNSW Redfern & Waterloo Walkups demolished over 20 year period
• Floor space increase of over 2 hectares for HNSW in South Eveleigh
• No RWA planning controls proposed for HNSW properties in Waterloo Conservation Area or HNSW scattered sites these are under Council LEP
• No indication of how HNSW stock outside defined area will be renewed
• 3500 private units go into Estates (no population estimates in report)
• 700 Affordable Housing places to be included in the estate areas
• 700 HNSW units displaced replaced elsewhere in the City of Sydney
• Proposed Business Mixed Use Zones for Elizabeth, Cope & McEvoy Sts
• Building heights up to 12 storeys allowed subject to design merit in 8 storey zoning
• Over 15 hectares or 35% more floor space than City of Sydney proposed
• Includes Urban Design Guiding Principles & Design Excellence Provision
• Remove road closures, 60% non-car travel target & less parking per unit
• RWA Traffic study says modest impact on traffic & parking
• Public space, parks & facilities to be outlined in future planning studies but not in current proposed planning controls
• Future planning studies to do more work on Transport, Public Domain & Community Facilities
• Comments feed into a SMDA Urban Renewal Study & HNSW Masterplan
• Final controls will be formally exhibited before coming into effect.

A summary of this nature is open to criticism as it reduces a complex report down to a few dot points, so we encourage you to use this as a starter, then to download the report and read it. Also keep an eye on the REDWatch website for comments as they become available.

As an example of the complexity you will see that there is some difference between REDWatch’s point above that “Over 15 hectares or 35% more floor space than City of Sydney proposed” and RWA’s BEP2 FAQs  Q18: “How does draft BEP 2 compare to the City of Sydney Council’s draft Local Environmental Plan (LEP)?” A: “The City of Sydney’s draft LEP will not provide controls for the Redfern and Waterloo sites (shown in dark blue in Figure 1 above), South Eveleigh (shown in brown in Figure 1 above) or the Eveleigh Street sites. For other Housing NSW” sites in the Redfern-Waterloo Operational Area, BEP 2 supports the controls proposed by the City’s draft LEP”.

We think it is important to point out that the City of Sydney undertook its own Urban Design Study for Waterloo & Redfern in 2006 as part of its preparation of new planning controls. The Council included significantly increased density for the Public Housing Estates in its Draft LEP which it sent last year to the Department of Planning (DoP) for approval to exhibit. The DoP instructed the Council to remove its proposed controls for the consolidated HNSW land from the formal exhibition of its LEP which also started this week. The BEP2 document contains, in Appendix A, the comparative figures for the Council and RWA proposals but the BEP2 does not provide totals for the changes or make an overall comparison between the proposals. REDWatch has tabulated the figures in REDWatch Comparison of BEP2 and CoS Floor Space Recommendations (PDF 74Kb) to provide its comparison. So the RWA’s answer, while technically correct, does not provide all the information that REDWatch thinks it should. This is important because a key part of the discussion about BEP2 is about densities and how if there are significant increases in density how this will impact on the area and those that live here now and in the future.

If you want to see what the CoS Design study said and recommended for these sites you will find them on the REDWatch website under City of Sydney Urban Design Study and Public Housing What was in the CoS Draft LEP for the HNSW Estates in Redfern and Waterloo can be downloaded here - Draft LEP Height  (PDF 289Kb), Draft LEP Floor Space Ratio (PDF 292Kb), Draft LEP Heritage Map (PDF 259Kb) and Draft LEP Land Use Zoning (263Kb).

The BEP2 exhibition closes on 28^th February and submissions can be emailed to redfernwaterloo@redfernwaterloo.nsw.gov.au

Sydney Metropolitan Development Authority (SMDA) takes on Planning for RWA Area

While the RWA has prepared the Draft BEP2 the follow up plans will be done by the RWA’s successor the SMDA. On 23 September the Minister for Planning announced the establishment of the Sydney Metropolitan Development Authority and that the RWA would be subsumed by the new SMDA. The priority for the Authority is to focus on the areas currently administered by the Redfern Waterloo Authority, including North Eveleigh and the Australian Technology Park as well as Granville.  RWA CEO Roy Wakelin-King was appointed as the interim CEO. There was also an RWA Statement on Sydney Metropolitan Development Authority issued on 29 September 2010.

On 15 December the Minister announced that a new State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) would cover Redfern Waterloo Eveleigh and Darlington (Redfern-Waterloo SEPP map). On 17 December the Government published Orders (Placing the SMDA under the Growth Centres Act and Changing the Employment and Management arrangements for the RWA and SMDA) bringing the SMDA under the Growth Centres (Development Corporations) Act 1974 and transferring RWA staff, apart from Aboriginal Employment programme staff, to the SMDA. It is not clear what will happen with the RWA’s Aboriginal Programmes but the RWA will continue until the RWA Bill (1994) is repealed. The SMDA has set up a new website at www.smda.nsw.gov.au and key RWA staff email addresses have changed to this domain. The establishment of the SMDA coincided with the release of the New Metropolitan Plan for Sydney 2036 which sets targets for jobs and housing across the city.

The new SEPP requires the Sydney Metropolitan Development Authority (SMDA) to undertake a planning study of the RWA’s area – the suburbs of Redfern, Eveleigh, Darlington and Waterloo. The study is to look at a wide range of issues such as infrastructure capacity, traffic and flood modelling, urban design outcomes, landscaping, environmental issues and economic and social factors. The SEPP states that consent authorities such as the City of Sydney “must not, while a precinct is being investigated, approve projects valued at more than $5 million unless they are consistent with urban renewal objectives.”

The RWA BEP 2 study will feed into this much wider study which will be undertaken when the Director General of Planning issues the requirements for the study. The new planning instrument that covers local HNSW estates will be introduced under this mechanism. It is also possible that the SMDA will recommend other areas in Redfern Eveleigh Darlington and Waterloo where increased densities should be introduced. These areas may be removed from the control of the City of Sydney as has happened with the HNSW estates covered by BEP2.

City of Sydney – City Plan (LEP & DCP) on exhibition until 4^th April 2011

The City Plan contains the new Local Environmental Plan (LEP) and Development Control Plan (DCP) for the City of Sydney as well as the Draft Green Square Affordable Housing Program and the Draft City of Sydney Competitive Design Policy. These documents are the CoS Council’s key planning controls and will guide future development in the city, promoting heritage, sustainability and liveability. Please take opportunity to look at the controls (height, floor space and land use etc) proposed for your part of the City. You will find the areas for the RWA Draft BEP2 blank. As both RWA and CoS proposed controls are on exhibition at the same time people may want to look at both together. Details of the City controls can be found at www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/Development/CityPlan/Default.asp

Sydney University Abercrombie Street Precinct Close to Exhibition

In 2007 Sydney University obtained requirements from the Department of Planning under Part 3A for a major project as MP 07_0158 - Abercrombie Street Precinct, Syd Uni. The University proposes to build its new Business School on the 1.92 ha site bordered by Darlington Lane, Codrington Street, Abercrombie Street and Darlington School. In December 2010 the University sort some input from the surrounding community before finalising their proposal and submitting it to the Department of Planning for Exhibition. Exhibition is expected soon. At exhibition the documents should go up on Department of Planning website. Sydney University have also set up a website for the Abercrombie Street development at www.sydney.edu.au/abercrombie_precinct and information will also appear on the university’s more general expansion website at www.sydney.edu.au/facilities/projects/sac/expansion.shtml.

The University has also placed on exhibition plans for the expansion of the Darlington campus aquatic centre and a new sports hall. The site has frontages to Abercrombie Street and Raglan Street and exhibition has been extended until 11^th February 2011. More details can be found on the Council’s website DA Number D/2010/2183 or can be viewed in the USyd Services Building foyer.

This exhibition highlighted a problem with the Council’s DA notifications system as the DA was advertised with a City Road address even though it was to be built 300m away on Abercrombie Street. We have asked the Council to investigate the problem to ensure that DAs on large sites with a single address like the University, clearly flag the actual development locations so locals can easily identify DAs which may impact upon them.

Recently about 30 residents met to discuss the University’s Abercrombie Street Precinct plans. If you live in the vicinity of this site and want to discuss the plans with other residents please contact Tim Brunero on 0405285547 who can add you to their email list.

Steps in the Recognition of Heritage

The last year has seen an increased focus on the importance of the area’s heritage. Following representations from heritage groups the Premier established a Redfern Waterloo Heritage Taskforce which met through 2010 and is due to report back to the Premier in late February. You can find out more about the task force on the RWA Heritage webpage and REDWatch’s Heritage Task Force Page – REDWatch also has a large heritage section on its website which can be accessed under the A Future for Heritage tab. The last year has also seen significant progress at the ATP with its Heritage S170 Register being made available, as well as its Heritage Interpretation Strategy – you can see these documents on ATP’s Heritage page.

As we put this RWIU together we are waiting for the exhibition of two key heritage documents. The first is the exhibition of the revised ATP Conservation Management Plan (CMP). This Plan is to replace the 1995 CMP which still governs the ATP and can now be found on the ATP Heritage Page. The second document awaiting exhibition is the Eveleigh Heritage Interpretation Strategy. This document has been produced by consultants as part of the Heritage Taskforce and Eveleigh Steering Committee process and it aims to produce an interpretation plan that will cover the entire former Eveleigh Railyard area irrespective of ownership. If you would like to know more about the Heritage Taskforce or these two important Heritage Exhibitions please contact Juliet Suich who is handling heritage issues at the RWA / SMDA on Juliet.Suich@smda.nsw.gov.au and she can add you to her heritage email list.

Positively Branding Redfern

Over the last 12 months work has been done the by design company Frost to come up with a brand for the Redfern area. Roll Up Redfern which includes the Council, RWA, Chamber of Commerce, Souths Football Club and REDWatch has been overseeing this project with funding from the City of Sydney and the Redfern Waterloo Authority. The project has involved meetings with local people and a study of people in a 10km radius of Redfern to assess their perceptions of and contact with the Redfern area. There will be a media launch of the brand at the Return to Redfern day run by South Sydney Rabbitohs on Saturday 5 February 2011.

On 9 February 2011 Frost will make a presentation for business and community organisations about how the Redfern brand was developed. There will also be tips on how local businesses and community organisations can use the new branding, Businesses and community organisations will be encouraged to consider looking at how the new brand can be used on their websites, leaflets, posters and other promotional material. We encourage those involved in local businesses and community organisations to attend and get an understanding of the process used to develop the concepts for the branding and what some of the benefits may be. For catering and seating purposes it is important to RSVP to RSVP@ssbchamber.com.au by 4^th February 2011. The Redfern Waterloo Chamber of Commerce recently expanded its area and has become the South Sydney Business Chamber with a new website – www.ssbchamber.com.au.

Finding a Community Service

Jo Fletcher from Connect Redfern Schools as Community Centres Program has updated its lists for Term 1 2011. You can find the latest lists on the REDWatch website under Find a Local Community Service along with other information on finding local services through the Lincs Directory, as well as links to the RWA - Redfern Waterloo Human Service Maps. The last year has seen long time services in the area re-joined by the relocated Redfern Health Centre which is now operating from the former Redfern Court House. The National Centre for Indigenous Excellence has also had a successful first year providing a positive Redfern focus for a wide range of Aboriginal activities from around the country. A number of new services are also moving into the area.

Details about the Redfern Waterloo Issues Update Email list and how to subscribe can be found at: http://lists.redwatch.org.au/mailman/listinfo/update