[North Eveleigh] Candidates Forum 21 Aug / Clothing Store meeting 5 Sep / Stockland wins Waterloo / Referral Feedback / Waterloo Metro

Mon Aug 19 10:08:26 AEST 2024

Dear REDWatch members, supporters and agencies,

City of Sydney Lord Mayor Candidates' Forum 21 August 7pm

Homes NSW on North Eveleigh's Clothing Store - REDWatch 5 September 6pm

Stockland, Link Wentworth, City West Housing and Birribee preferred for Waterloo redevelopment

Waterloo Collaborative focus on Referrals in September

Looking back at the Waterloo Metro Decision

REDWatch 20th Anniversary - Council Acknowledgement letter
Please note - this email contains hyperlinks. This means that if you see a blue underlined word or phrase that you can click on it and go directly to a document or to get more information.
City of Sydney Lord Mayor Candidates' Forum 21 August 7pm
Council elections are being held on Saturday 14 September this year and for Sydney Council there are ten candidates for Lord Mayor<https://elections.nsw.gov.au/elections/local-government-elections/2024-nsw-local-government-elections/candidates?area=Sydney&contest=Mayoral>, eight of whom head up tickets for councillors. While it missed out on nominating candidates for many Councils, the Liberal Party did lodge for Sydney.
A candidate's forum for the City of Sydney Lord Mayor will be held at Alexandria Town Hall, 73 Garden St, Alexandria at 7pm on Wednesday 21 August 2024. The forum is organised by Alexandria Residents Action Group (ARAG), Friends of Erskineville (FOE) and REDWatch.
Following a survey of residents about their top issues, the Mayoral candidates have been asked to address these three areas in their opening address to the meeting:

*         Transport - finding a balance between pedestrians, cyclists, vehicle drivers and public transport users

*         Development - ensuring that development incorporates the delivery of community benefit (parks, open spaces, areas for people to come together)

*         Housing affordability - role of Council in maximising the delivery of affordable housing via the Council's contribution scheme and the allocation to community housing providers, the affordable and diverse housing fund, the City's strategic planning and housing targets, the City's planning consent/refusal vis-a-vis net loss of dwellings
So come along to hear what the candidates have to say and ask any questions you might have.
Homes NSW on North Eveleigh's Clothing Store - REDWatch 5 September 6pm
At the beginning of July the NSW Government announced that Homes NSW would develop the North Eveleigh Clothing Store Precinct for around 500 homes, half of which would be social and affordable housing.
While it is early in the Homes NSW planning for this site, REDWatch has arranged for Homes NSW to attend the REDWatch meeting to talk to people about its plans for this site and to hear any community concerns that should be taken into account.
The controls for the site are still those of the 2008 Concept Plan. The only work undertaken was an access road and the City West Platform Apartments. It currently looks like work on the site will be in line with the 2008 Concept Plan. So this will be of interest to those around the site.
Those with an interest in housing policy will also be interested in this topic.. This development is the first in a new round of developments on government owned land with government funding for new social and affordable housing. They will be interested to see how this will differ from the self-funded public housing estate renewal model proposed for existing public housing sites like Waterloo.
There will also be a brief update by Homes NSW on the Waterloo Redevelopment Consortium announcement (see information later in this update).
This meeting will be held at Counterpoint's Factory Community Centre, 67 Raglan Street, Waterloo at 6pm on Thursday 5 September 2024. We are making the meeting accessible on line via Zoom for those who cannot attend in person - http://tinyurl.com/RedwatchMeetingZoom.
Stockland, Link Wentworth, City West Housing and Birribee preferred for Waterloo redevelopment
Following a tender process, the NSW Government has selected Stockland<https://www.stockland.com.au/>, Link Wentworth<https://www.linkwentworth.org.au/>, City West Housing<https://citywesthousing.com.au/>, and Birribee<https://birribee.org.au/> as Homes NSW's preferred partners to lead the Waterloo<https://www.dpie.nsw.gov.au/land-and-housing-corporation/greater-sydney/waterloo> renewal. There is no detail in the announcement about the consortium's winning proposal and most of the detail in the announcement is a restatement of earlier information.
Homes NSW has simultaneously announced that the first relocation notices have been pushed back until the beginning of 2025. With six months' notice, the first relocations should now mesh with the availability of the 70 new social housing units being built above the Waterloo Metro. The announcement does not tell us which CHP will run the social housing on the Metro site. In terms of expertise we would expect Link Wentworth to run the social housing, Birribee to run Aboriginal housing and City West to run the affordable housing, but that is not stated anywhere.
It is clear that much still needs to be agreed between Homes NSW and the Stockland Consortium. Stockland's notice to the Australian Stock Exchange<https://clients3.weblink.com.au/pdf/SGP/02836942.pdf> said: "The transaction remains subject to completion of documentation and all relevant approvals." The Media Statement from the Housing Minister<https://www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/next-step-complete-for-australias-largest-social-housing-build> put it this way: 'Homes NSW will now start negotiating contracts with the building partners to plan, design, deliver and fund the development over the next 10-15 years, as well as ongoing operations. The negotiations are expected to take six months, and are the final step in the competitive, multi-stage procurement process". Stockland anticipates "commencement of works is in 2027, subject to all relevant planning and internal approvals".
So it will take some time for the community to learn details of what Stockland proposes for Waterloo and about what Homes NSW and Stockland agree. Of importance will be how the Stockland Consortium plans to deliver the increased affordable housing required, how much of the 20% will be in perpetuity and what Stockland has planned for the private half of the estate.
As Homes NSW sits down to finalise arrangements with the consortium it is of concern that Home NSW has not yet responded to concerns raised in submissions regarding its Draft People and Place Plan. This is a key component in this next phase, which the Minister's media release says "will ensure Homes NSW and the building partners are aligned on roles and responsibilities, a program for renewal and how the partnership will work with the community to deliver better outcomes for the people of Waterloo". Elements of People and Place relate to human services and the need to integrate with the work being done on current issues by the Waterloo Human Services Collaborative. Other elements have impacts wider than Waterloo South and need to be part of a wider estate management plan rather than just relating to Waterloo South.
It is encouraging that Minister Jackson has kept her undertaking of advising tenants impacted by an announcement before they hear about it in the media. In this case a message went out to tenants almost simultaneously with Stockland's required ASX announcement with the media release and media coverage following the next day.
The three statements from Homes NSW can be found on the REDWatch website under Homes NSW Advise Tenants Stockland Consortium is Waterloo South Developer<http://www.redwatch.org.au/RWA/Waterloo/lahc22-23/240808hnsw> or for the Minister's letter to tenants<https://www.nsw.gov.au/departments-and-agencies/homes-nsw/waterloo-renewal-project> and the Minister's media release<https://www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/next-step-complete-for-australias-largest-social-housing-build>.  These are the statements from consortium partners Stockland<https://clients3.weblink.com.au/pdf/SGP/02836942.pdf>, Link Wentworth<https://www.linkwentworth.org.au/media-releases/stockland-consortia-announced-as-preferred-partner-for-waterloo-statement-from-link-wentworth-ceo-andrew-mcanulty/> and City West Housing<file:///C:/Data/citywesthousing.com.au/waterloo-south-renewal-project/>. There will be a brief update from Homes NSW at the REDWatch meeting on 5 September if any further information becomes available.
Articles about the announcement appeared in the SMH's Plans to build 3000 new homes in Sydney's inner south one step closer<https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/plans-to-build-3000-new-homes-in-sydney-s-inner-south-one-step-closer-20240808-p5k0tc.html> and The Australian's Stockland back in the apartment business with Waterloo Estate win<https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/plans-to-build-3000-new-homes-in-sydney-s-inner-south-one-step-closer-20240808-p5k0tc.html>. The Australian reported "Citi analysts estimated the project value between $2-3bn and put potential profits at $300-$600m, based on margins for similar developments". The Australian also reported that: "Morgan Stanley analysts said Stockland would derive profits from the 1500 build-to-sell lots which could have an end value of about $2.2bn, as well as development fees on the affordable housing, which would be on sold to its partners. The social housing will be delivered to the government in lieu of land payments for the entire project".
Waterloo Collaborative focus on Referrals in September
In September, the Waterloo Human Service Collaborative (WHSC) is asking agencies to focus on their referrals and how they might be improved. As part of this the Collaborative will run two surveys to better understand referral practices for Waterloo clients and how referrals can be improved. One survey is aimed at service users, while the other focuses on agencies and their staff who make and receive referrals. The survey links are:

  *   For agencies and agency workers: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/F5JBNWH
  *   For Residents https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/F5SJDVV
The Collaborative wants agency workers to actively connect service users with the services they need. Getting feedback on referrals made and received plays a pivotal role in making sure service users are linked to the correct services quickly, thus minimising the number of times they need to retell their story.
To support this initiative, the Collaborative has produced Service Access Resources<https://waterloo2017.com/service-access-copy/> like the Active Linking Model and Resources, the Waterloo Community Navigators Tool Kit, Service Directories and the Customer Service <https://waterloo2017.com/customer-service-toolkit/> Toolkit, all conveniently accessible at www.waterloo2017.com<http://www.waterloo2017.com>.
For more information see: Tell us about your experience of referrals in September<https://waterloo2017.com/2024/08/19/tell-us-about-your-experience-of-referrals-in-september/> on the Collaborative's website www.waterloo2017.com<http://www.waterloo2017.com>.
Looking back at the Waterloo Metro Decision
With the Waterloo Metro station open, it was interesting to read the SMH article of 17 August 2024, on How near impossible plan for mega-metro line under Sydney Harbour became reality<https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/how-near-impossible-plan-for-mega-metro-line-under-sydney-harbour-became-reality-20240402-p5fgos.html>. The following extract from that article quoting key Government Minister confirms community views that the Metro decision was put in Waterloo to redevelop the public housing estate. The article says:
By late 2015, the government had to make one of the project's most fraught decisions: where to build a station on the southern stretch between Central Station and Sydenham. Berejiklian and Constance favoured Sydney University as the site while Stokes, Brad Hazzard and other ministers wanted a station at Waterloo to spur the renewal of a suburb dominated by public housing.
"The only contentious part of the project was Waterloo and the uni, and then of course the big decision in relation to poles and wires," Constance says. "It was a tough, robust debate. But at the end of the day, a decision was made to put it at Waterloo to gentrify the area and uplift the social housing."
With four ministers in favour of Waterloo and four for the university, the call was made by Baird as chair of the Cabinet infrastructure committee.
Stokes, who was the planning minister at the time, says it was lineball. "From a purely economic perspective, Sydney University was the logical route to take. But in terms of reshaping the city and providing social equity through public transport, Waterloo was the best choice," he says.
The Future Directions for Social Housing Policy in NSW was released a month after the Waterloo announcement. Action 1.1 of the plan was to Increase redevelopment of Land and Housing Corporation properties and the second item to grow supply was to "Align redevelopment projects with UrbanGrowth priority renewal areas". UrbanGrowth did the initial planning around Waterloo Station.
REDWatch 20th Anniversary - Council Acknowledgement letter
REDWatch has received this letter from the Lord Mayor<http://www.redwatch.org.au/redwatch/about/240804cos> recognising REDWatch's 20th Anniversary. This letter date 5 August 2024 from Lord Mayor Clover Moore, follows Council on 24 June 2024 unanimously endorsing her Mayoral Minute acknowledging and thanking REDWatch on its 20th anniversary. A copy of the Lord Mayoral Minute is attached.

Regards,

Geoff
Geoffrey Turnbull
REDWatch Co-Spokesperson
Ph Wk: (02) 8004 1490  Mob: 0418 457 392
email: spokesperson at redwatch.org.au<mailto:spokesperson at redwatch.org.au>
web: www.redwatch.org.au<http://www.redwatch.org.au/>
FB: www.facebook.com/RedfernEveleighDarlingtonWaterlooWatch/<http://www.facebook.com/RedfernEveleighDarlingtonWaterlooWatch/>

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