[North Eveleigh] Homes NSW Changes / North Eveleigh Developments / AFZ & APAs / e-bikes / 199 Cleveland St

Wed Jul 3 12:50:19 AEST 2024

Dear REDWatch members, supporters and agencies,

REDWatch 4th July 6.00pm - Homes NSW Maintenance Changes

Homes NSW gets surplus government land including at North Eveleigh.

What does this announcement mean for North Eveleigh?

Little new regarding the Paint Shop Precinct

Campaign to Build a Bridge from Carriageworks to South Eveleigh

Outdoor Alcohol restrictions exhibition until 29 July

Parliamentary Enquiry into use of e-scooters, e-bikes and related mobility options - Submissions close 18 August

Former Transport House, 199 Cleveland Street, Redfern listed on State Heritage Register
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REDWatch 4th July 6.00pm - Homes NSW Maintenance Changes
A reminder that the July REDWatch meeting is with Homes NSW will explain the maintenance changes for public housing tenants that came into effect on 1 July.  To promote the event this is the Homes NSW Explains Maintenance changes - REDWatch 4 July 2024 6pm flyer<http://www.redwatch.org.au/eventnotice/240704redwp/view>.
The July REDWatch meeting will be held at 6pm on Thursday 4th July 2024 at Counterpoint's Factory Community Centre, 67 Raglan St Waterloo and it will also be available on Zoom via http://tinyurl.com/RedwatchMeetingZoom .
Homes NSW gets surplus government land including at North Eveleigh.
In the NSW budget the Minns Government committed to build up to 30,000 well-located homes<https://www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/nsw-budget-building-homes-for-new-south-wales> across NSW and they also allocated $5.1 billion for new social housing with 50% of new homes built for victim-survivors of family and domestic violence<https://www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/nsw-budget-social-housing-and-homelessness-investment>. Central to delivering this plan was a state-wide audit of government land that could be used for housing. On July 1 2024 the NSW Government announced the first four of the sites to be redeveloped, of those sites three will be developed by Homes NSW delivering additional social and affordable housing. The three sites are:

  *   The Clothing Store sub-precinct in North Eveleigh. This site will allow for approximately 500 new dwellings to be built, 50% of which will be social and affordable homes, to be delivered by Homes NSW.
  *   301 Samantha Riley Drive, Kellyville: Currently this site, located adjacent to Rouse Hill Metro station, is expected to deliver between 75-83 new homes, 50 per cent of which will be social and affordable, to be delivered by Homes NSW.
  *   72, 82 and 86 Menangle Road, Camden: Approximately 10 social and affordable homes will be built on this site, delivered by Homes NSW.
If the North Eveleigh Clothing Store Precinct is developed in the same way proposed for Waterloo South with 30% social and 20% affordable housing, the North Eveleigh site will deliver 150 social housing units. This is the same number of additional social housing units that will be delivered at Waterloo South when it is finally completed in about 15 years' time. Minister Jackson said yesterday she expected the Clothing Store Precinct to be delivered in the next two years.
Building new social and affordable housing on surplus government land is a game changer for adding the new social and affordable housing needed to cut the waiting lists for both housing types without having to relocate existing tenants and stall allocations from the wait list. This is why housing advocates have been pushing for these kind of developments on surplus government land.
Now that these sites have been identified further due diligence and planning will take place. Additional sites assessed as suitable for housing delivery will continue to be announced over coming months. The full media statement is Building Homes for New South Wales: First sites identified<https://www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/building-homes-for-new-south-wales-first-sites-identified>.
Media coverage of the announcement includes:

  *   SMH got the initial media drop: Housing plan unveiled for Carriageworks precinct<https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/housing-plan-unveiled-for-carriageworks-precinct-20240630-p5jpv9.html>
  *   ABC's NSW government announces the first of 44 government-owned sites that will be made available for new housing<https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-01/nsw-first-housing-sites-announced/104042528>
  *   AAP Newswire - Sites for hundreds of homes teased out after land audit<https://www.denipt.com.au/national/sites-for-hundreds-of-homes-teased-out-after-land-audit/>
  *   South Sydney Herald - Homes NSW to develop North Eveleigh Clothing Store site<https://southsydneyherald.com.au/homes-nsw-to-develop-north-eveleigh-clothing-store-site/>
  *   CathNews's - NSW Government unveils plan for social and affordable homes<https://cathnews.com/2024/07/02/nsw-government-unveils-plan-for-social-and-affordable-homes/>
What does this announcement mean for North Eveleigh?
Homes NSW owns and runs public housing, Aboriginal housing and some key worker housing across NSW. It also has responsibility for delivering more affordable housing. The Clothing Store Precinct is already home to the Platform Apartments, with its 88 affordable housing apartments delivered in 2015 by City West Housing.
Homes NSW will develop the North Eveleigh Clothing Store Precinct in a similar manner to that proposed for Waterloo South. The site will be transferred to Homes NSW, which will seek a development partner to deliver 500 new homes of which 50% will be social and affordable with the balance private. The consortium normally includes a developer and one or more Community Housing Providers (CHP) to manage the social and maybe the affordable housing.
The Clothing Store Precinct has a long history. It was previously part of the Eveleigh Railway Workshops. It was zoned primarily residential in 2006 with heights of 4 to 10 storeys. In 2008 the heights increased to 4 to 12 storeys residential as part of the approved concept plan for North Eveleigh. UrbanGrowth NSW developed a proposal for 4 to 20 storey residential buildings on the site in 2015, but this proposal was abandoned after community opposition to the increased heights.
The existing 4 to 12 storey controls were taken to market in 2022 by Transport for NSW (TfNSW) after further work with the community, including around potential non-residential uses for the Clothing Store building. TfNSW called for expressions of interest for the site based a 99 year lease rather than sale. That proposal was for 500-600 build-to-rent houses with 15% to be affordable. Four proponents were shortlisted in March 2023, but the process did not proceed with the change of government.
The Homes NSW proposal for 500 homes across the entirety of the Clothing Store Precinct is in keeping with the controls taken to market by Transport for NSW in 2022. Homes NSW says it will build on the earlier studies and work on this site including retaining the provisions for open space and parks as per previous engagement with the community. The Minister for Homes NSW, Rose Jackson has promised consultation with the community over Homes NSW planning for the site.
TfNSW held a planning workshop (charrette) in 2022 with the Potential Clothing Store and Park Charette Outcome<http://www.redwatch.org.au/RWA/statesignificant/northeveleigh/necs/rnecs/221117tahec/view> used to inform those interested in the site. This report details many of the issues that need to be addressed in developing this site, around how to use the difficult to adapt Clothing Store building, as well as the split levels created by site levelling and the access road. There still is a push for a change to the access road and the need for the new traffic study the Department of Planning required for the site after finding the 2008 traffic study inadequate.
The media release for the Clothing Store announcement, Building Homes for New South Wales: First sites identified<https://www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/building-homes-for-new-south-wales-first-sites-identified>, contains little site specific information and REDWatch has needed to get clarification from Homes NSW on some matters. You can find historical information about this site on the North Eveleigh section of the REDWatch site<http://www.redwatch.org.au/RWA/statesignificant/northeveleigh> and on the Stealing Our Skies<http://www.stealingourskies.com/> website that has a focus on North Eveleigh and the Clothing Store Precinct.
Little new regarding the Paint Shop Precinct
It is still not clear what will happen on the Paint Shop Precinct. The next step was to be a Voluntary Planning Agreement between Council and Transport for NSW, but this was delayed and then not finalised. There have also been delays within government over the site. Since the election REDWatch has checked regularly with Transport for NSW for an update, but as recently as this week TfNSW says it is unable to provide details as to when there might be further movement on that site or when it can talk to the community about the site.
The only part currently proceeding is the renovation of the Chief Mechanical Engineers Building which can happen independently to the rest of the site.
Campaign to Build a Bridge from Carriageworks to South Eveleigh
A bridge across the railway lines at Carriageworks was one of the community outcomes promised by Premier Carr in 2004<http://www.redwatch.org.au/RWA/statements/2004/041026carr> when announcing the establishment of the Redfern Waterloo Authority, which took planning control of what happened in the Former Eveleigh Railyards and other locations from Council and gave it to the NSW Government.
REDWatch, Alexandria Residents Action Group and Friends of Erskineville continue to campaign for this bridge and you can sign the petition at Build a Bridge - Action Network<https://actionnetwork.org/letters/build-a-bridge>. The campaign to build the bridge is supported by local MP Jenny Leong and by City of Sydney Council.
Transport for NSW has under taken studies into the feasibility of this bridge but has not made the studies public. Prior to the NSW election Transport for NSW said that the bridge did not add value to the Paint Shop Precinct renewal. The three resident groups have recently requested the studies undertaken for Transport for NSW on the Bridge be released for public scrutiny.
Outdoor Alcohol restrictions exhibition until 29 July
Following earlier concerns about alcohol-free zones (AFZs) which apply to public roads, footpaths and public carparks and alcohol prohibited areas (APAs) which apply to parks and civic spaces, Council has reviewed its proposal and has put a new proposal on exhibition<https://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/public-notices/your-feedback-proposed-outdoor-alcohol-restrictions>. REDWatch had problems getting the map to show on Chrome so if you can't see the map<https://cityofsydney.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=ecfb3b7c089e427d9234059df4d74e5d> then we suggest try another browser.
If you are looking for further information on the issues raised during the consultation on these zones you may want to read the report to Council on the exhibition<https://meetings.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/documents/s82226/Public%20Exhibition%20-%20Review%20of%20Outdoor%20Alcohol%20Restrictions.pdf> and Attachment A - Outdoor Alcohol Restrictions Review Report - Urbis<https://meetings.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/documents/s84207/Attachment%20A%20-%20Outdoor%20Alcohol%20Restrictions%20Review%20Report%20-%20Urbis.pdf>.
The Waterloo Human Services Collaborative is also exploring options with Council for the establishment of a project to work with those who drink in public for economic or social reasons in Waterloo. A program called Beyond Walls worked successfully with street drinkers in Waterloo over 10 years ago, giving drinkers a voice and access to health and other supports. It stopped when two year federal funding came to an end and no state agency was prepared to fund the project even though it had delivered good outcomes. REDWatch is pushing for such a project to be revisited as just relying on AFZs and APAs has not delivered the desired outcomes for the drinkers or the wider community.
Parliamentary Enquiry into use of e-scooters, e-bikes and related mobility options - Submissions close 18 August
REDWatch meets with other City of Sydney resident groups and the Lord Mayor on a regular basis. At the last meeting there was considerable concern among residents about share bikes being left on streets as well as their use on footpaths.
The area is regulated by the State Government and Council has argued as a priority, the NSW Government must limit the number of share bike operators and share bikes available for use in our area. You can read the City of Sydney Lord Mayoral Minute on Improving Safety for People Riding and Walking at city.sydney/5n2<http://www.city.sydney/5n2>.
A NSW Parliamentary Inquiry has now been established into the use of e-scooters, e-bikes and related mobility options<https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/committees/inquiries/Pages/inquiry-details.aspx?pk=3052#tab-members>, which provides an opportunity for people to raise issues and to push for the changes that are required.
Former Transport House, 199 Cleveland Street, Redfern listed on State Heritage Register
In an earlier email update we passed on the request from the Retired Rail Tram and Bus Union members organisation for support for the listing of the Former Transport House on Cleveland Street. The application for listing was successful and you can now read the entry on the State Heritage Inventory for Transport House, Redfern (former)<https://www.hms.heritage.nsw.gov.au/App/Item/ViewItem?itemId=5067438>.
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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