[North Eveleigh] Waterloo: Meet the Consortium 2nd Oct / Consultation and Concept Issues / Other updates as below

[Geoff Turnbull (REDWatch Spokesperson)]

Dear REDWatch members, supporters and agencies, (Resent after earlier transmission problem)


Meet the Waterloo South Consortium members - REDWatch Meeting 6pm 2nd October 2025

Stockland Consultation must build on earlier work

The Consultation is for a Waterloo South concept plan

The Concept Plan and the Non-Residential Space Dilemma

Clarification on Council's Waterloo Community Facility Space

Exhibition times shortened but maybe extended for some sites

Waterloo City of Sydney Social Housing Tenants' Meeting

Council concerns about the new Housing Delivery Authority (HDA)

The impacts of indoor temperature and overheating on mental health

WAGEC "This Keeps Women out of Prison" Report

New Health Research Facility Approved opposite Waterloo Metro
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.
Meet the Waterloo South Consortium members - REDWatch Meeting 6pm 2nd October 2025
At the coming meeting Stockland has agreed you will meet the consortium members, find out about opportunities to have a say in the coming broader consolations and hopefully get a clearer idea of what Stockland propose, including what was in its application for planning requirements for the concept plan they submitted.
So, come along to the REDWatch meeting and bring your questions for the Consortium members including the Community Housing Providers.
The REDWatch meeting is at 6pm on Thursday 2nd October 2025 at Counterpoint's Factory Community Centre, 67 Raglan Street, Waterloo or join us on line by Zoom http://tinyurl.com/RedwatchMeetingZoom. A flyer for the event is on REDWatch's Facebook page<https://www.facebook.com/RedfernEveleighDarlingtonWaterlooWatch/> to share to promote the event.
Stockland said that in October and November it would start talking to the community about its plans for all of Waterloo South to get community feedback on its concept plan. In response the REDWatch Coordination Group moved the REDWatch AGM to December and made the next two meetings available for discussion about the Concept Plan to help get community input. Now Stockland has come out with a 6-week engagement plan covering the last week of October, November and the first week of December! They saying they will kick off that consultation by putting their initial plans on the table but they are not ready to do that now.
REDWatch meetings are the only regular meetings that happen outside work hours that allows both tenants, professionals and interested community members to be involved in detailed conversations about issues like the redevelopment. REDWatch was set up 20 years ago to make sure the community has a proper voice in such developments and not everyone can attend day time meetings that are set up for agencies and tenants that are not working or have day time commitments. REDWatch is a community-controlled space not one controlled by the proponent or consultants where information is generally provided and discussion and questioning often limited.
It May REDWatch provided the Consortium a list of questions about the redevelopment that it collected from the community. While some bits have come out in meetings since then there has never been a response to these questions like Land and Housing Response to REDWatch Questions<http://www.redwatch.org.au/RWA/Waterloo/2016waterloo/160927lahc/view> in 2016 that we can share with those who raised the questions.
REDWatch is concerned with the lack of transparency to date from Stockland on the Waterloo South Redevelopment. There will need to be transparency about the starting point for the Concept Plan discussions if the community is to have real input. Hopefully Stockland will do this.
In preparation for the consultation REDWatch has provided below some preliminary thoughts on Concept Plan issues that should be considered heading into the consultation.
Stockland Consultation must build on earlier work
The rezoning for Waterloo South set rules for the development, these included rules about land use, heights and how much development of different kinds would be delivered in Waterloo South and much more. Since then, the City of Sydney has entered into an agreement about what it will run, such as streets, parks and community facilities. In addition, Stockland has entered into a contract to do the development with Homes NSW and we don't know what was in its winning bid or what Homes NSW has asked of it. We also don't know how Stockland want to change the plan to fit in the 10% more buildings it is allowed to include that was not expected in the scheme that the planning controls were based on.
So far Stockland has not spoken with the community, but it says it has reviewed earlier consultations and submissions and will be building on that. We don't yet know what it has learnt from that review nor what it plans to do with it.
For the coming consultation REDWatch has pushed for the consultation to start with Stockland showing the community its current proposal considering all the above. People can then know what has been heard from earlier consultations and build on what is already there rather than repeating earlier conversations.
The Consultation is for a Waterloo South concept plan
The rezoning of Waterloo South did not look at all the details of the proposed redevelopment and it set a follow-up "Concept Development Application" process for the developer to finalise some work before development applications to build any new buildings could proceed.
One of the key reasons for this was that Stockland needs to show across the Waterloo South building blocks where it will be putting social, affordable and private housing as well as retail, office space, community facilities, child care and health facilities etc. Stockland also has to produce a staging plan and delivery sequence showing in what order outcomes will be delivered. These are key concerns raised by tenants in earlier consultation - remember people saying that we will be down in the shadows, next to McEvoy Street, well the Concept Plan decides where social housing tenants will be.
There are also other issues to be resolved like the subdivision; new roads; foot-paths; through site links; flood mitigation; addressing wind, sound and solar access issues; contamination; tree cover (both retention and new plantings) and landscaping etc. that need to be looked at across the entire site.
Stockland will also need to request any changes to the planning controls, design guide and design excellence approach if it wants to change what is already in place. It also needs to develop a public art strategy and ideally names for places and buildings that reflect the area's history.
As we approach the 10-year anniversary of this version of the Waterloo redevelopment, and over 20 since it was first mooted, the Concept Plan will see Waterloo's first Social Impact Assessment to look at the potential benefits and impacts of the redevelopment. Some of this assessment will probably depend on Homes NSW's said to be imminent People and Place Plan that deals with precinct governance, place making and human services. Until we see what Stockland plan and the People and Place Plan it is not possible to assess impacts.
Stockland has already applied to the Department of Planning for the study requirement for the Waterloo Estate (South) Concept<https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/major-projects/projects/waterloo-estate-south-concept>, which is described as SSD-93222706 "Concept SSDA rezoning for Waterloo South for the future delivery of 3,000 dwellings including a mix of social, affordable and market housing". Although the title says 3,000 housing, the Concept needs to try to accommodate the extra 300 units from the 10% design excellence bonus - not exactly truth in advertising. The inclusion of rezoning in the description indicates changes to the existing planning rules will be requested. The application and the Department's requirements will appear on this site<https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/major-projects/projects/waterloo-estate-south-concept> when the requirements are issued.
Stockland say they will consult on the "big picture" concept and then report back to the community early next year about what it has heard from the community before the plan is lodged with the Department of Planning for a formal exhibition. Stockland know from the earlier rezoning and the usual requirements from such projects what studies will be required and have been onboarding consultants. Hopefully they will make public the list of consultants and put in place a mechanism for community members to be able to raise issues with them rather than just the "speed dating" that is currently proposed.
This consultation is about getting all your ideas on these things in before the plan is finalised for exhibition. In line with REDWatch's Objects that "communication and consultation is comprehensive and responsive" it is important to build on what has already been agreed, rather than starting consultations back at square one. Tick the box consultations tend to have lots of events, but no real process to ensure conversations are about what can be influenced.
When people don't feel heard when they participate then they become disillusioned and stop participating. This will be first of many engagements that Stockland do on this project and it is crucial that it builds on what has gone before rather than start from scratch.
Hopefully the coming engagement will actually consult on those things that are currently able to be influenced and set a good working base for future discussions.
The Concept Plan and the Non-Residential Space Dilemma
The planning controls allocate 17,000sqm for non-residential floor space for retail, commercial and community facilities in Waterloo South. No less than 5,000sqm of this is for community facilities, childcare and health facilities. The balance 12,000sqm is available for other uses including retail and commercial. The community facility figure does not include the parks or what could be built on them.
After Council gets 2,400sqm for community facilities the developer has the remaining 2,600sqm to allocate for possibly other community facilities, childcare and health facilities to be controlled by commercial, not-for-profit or state government operations. While community facilities need to be controlled by a Council or a not-for-profit, childcare facilities can go to commercial entities and for the health facility it can be a state government operation or a commercial entity.
The consequence of this is that a not-for-profit preschool, like Poets Corner, which operates at the bottom of one of Redfern's public housing towers would have to compete with a for-profit childcare operator looking to expand its childcare space. Sydney Local Health District potentially has to compete with a private for-profit health centre.  Given space has already been given to Council, any not-for-profit service provider wanting to be in the new development would be competing for floor space against for-profit providers at probably commercial rents.
The balance 12,000sqm retail and commercial space also throws up a similar dilemma. The planning proposal talks about shops and non-residential uses such as incubation and social enterprise spaces. It also talks about affordable retail and its management, as well as low-cost or free options available including spaces where community members can buy, cook and share healthy, affordable and culturally appropriate food. Provision of these kind of retail and commercial spaces potentially compete with commercial retail that could use that space.
These tensions between community aspirations and commercial realities for the developer will need to be worked through in the Concept Plan if they are not to be eroded later on.
Clarification on Council's Waterloo Community Facility Space
During the rezoning consultation the discussion was always about the Waterloo South Plan delivering a Council Community Centre opposite the small park. The final Voluntary Planning Agreement (VPA) between Council, Homes NSW and the Department of Planning however shows Council facilities at two locations not one. This is a change from the exhibited document. REDWatch only recently learnt of this and has chased down an explanation.
Under the VPA the developer is to deliver to Council 2,400sqm of space for community facilities, however apparently the site opposite the small park can only accommodate 800sqm so the remaining 1600sqm has to be delivered elsewhere. Council has suggested the second centre be on a site in Cooper Street. Both proposed sites are in stand-alone buildings that could be transferred to Council rather than run under a strata arrangement. The final location will need to be agreed between Stockland and Council and shown in the Concept Plan.
At this time the community has no idea what Council plans to do with these two centres and more importantly how, or if, it plans to run them. Council uses three models for its community facilities, some are unstaffed and are by bookings only, others are staffed and run by Council itself while others are passed over to another organisation to run rather than council. Will the centre be sport and recreation type centre with paid for yoga, arts spaces, or will it also deliver counselling and support services that Council centres normally don't supply? It is important now to know what Council is thinking about this as it impacts what else the community might ask for on the site. We can't really wait the two years that Stockland need to give Council for Council to work out what it needs them to deliver, to answer these questions.
One of the major flaws in the earlier Waterloo community facilities study was that while it assessed the existence of services, it did not assess if the properties that they operated from were fit for purpose and many are not. Most NGOs in the area operate from premises owned by Council or Homes NSW that are not tailored for the services they provide. Non-Government human service providers are not funded in their grants to cover rent, hence the need for peppercorn rent arrangements to allow them to provide the services they do.
Exhibition times shortened but maybe extended for some sites
We have earlier alerted people to the proposed changes to reduce exhibition periods for many State Significant Developments to 14 days. That change has now gone ahead and a new  Community participation plan (PDF, 1.9 MB)<https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-04/community-participation-plan.pdf> is in place allowing for the reduced exhibition time. The Participation Plan section of the Planning Departments website<https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/policy-and-legislation/environmental-planning-and-assessment-act-1979/community-participation-plans?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Community+Participation+Plan+finalisation+September+2025+-+Industry+stakeholders&utm_source=salesforce> has been updated and says:
Extended exhibition periods will be considered when a project:

  *   involves a complex concurrent rezoning, or
  *   is wholly prohibited in the relevant land use zone(s), or
  *   would otherwise be designated development.
Hopefully the Waterloo Concept Plan will get more than 14 days formal exhibition! With the government cutting formal exhibition times it is even more important that pre-submission consultation, like that coming for the Waterloo South Concept be robust.
Waterloo City of Sydney Social Housing Tenants' Meeting
The next social housing meeting for tenants who live in the Waterloo area will be on Thursday 16 October at The Factory, 67 Raglan Street, Waterloo. The general meeting will take place between 11am and 12pm. The meeting will include updates from Council and Homes NSW representatives.
Council concerns about the new Housing Delivery Authority (HDA)
In our last update we reported on a briefing from Council to community groups about the CoS Presentation on Housing Delivery Authority for Resident Action Group Briefing 27 Aug 2025<http://www.redwatch.org.au/govt/cos/250827cos>. Council has now provided the presentation which will be on the above link when we can get the REDWatch website taking new material. The presentation provides examples of how developers are using the HDA to go after greater yield in developments at the expense of Council's strategic planning and as a consequence slowing down the very housing acceleration that the NSW Government wants the HDA to achieve. One example in the presentation was for Coronation's Waterloo Build to Rent on 881-885 Bourke Road in this Coronation announcement<https://www.btrnews.au/coronation-submits-plans-for-waterloo-btr/>.
In an email to resident groups Clover Moore says: "Developers can sidestep Council and go straight to the NSW Government to change the planning rules and sign their development off, even if a DA has already been lodged with or approved the City. And now, the Government is legislating to make the HDA permanent".
This presentation was made to Community Groups on 27 August 2025, prior to the NSW Government introducing the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Planning System Reforms) Bill 2025<https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/bills/Pages/bill-details.aspx?pk=18807> which proposes to make the Housing Delivery Authority a permanent part of the Environment Planning and Assessment Act.
The proposed Bill is much wider than the HAD, it also adds new objects to the Act and makes other changes. Council says it is currently assessing the proposed changes. You can see what Minister Paul Scully is proposing in the Second Reading Speech<https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Hansard/Pages/HansardResult.aspx#/docid/'HANSARD-1323879322-157345'> and in the media release<https://www.nsw.gov.au/ministerial-releases/planning-system-reform-to-help-build-nsws-future>. You can get an idea of how the development industry has reacted from this media release from Urban Taskforce<https://www.urbantaskforce.com.au/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/250917-Landmark-reform-bill-to-put-housing-front-and-centre-of-Planning-Act.pdf>. We are am sure there will be much more comment to follow when the NSW Parliament returns to debate the proposed changes.
The impacts of indoor temperature and overheating on mental health
I recently attended a Sydney University Matilda Centre presentation on 'Cold housing - the impacts of indoor temperature and overheating on mental health<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTzFJ8zXtxQ>', which you can watch on YouTube. I asked about what was happening in Social Housing to address the issue and was pointed to the Federal Government's Social Housing Energy Performance Initiative (SHEPI)<https://www.dcceew.gov.au/energy/programs/social-housing> that provides funding to states and territories for the upgrade of social housing stock. Information on the SHEPI programs in NSW is found on the NSW Climate and Energy Action website<https://www.energy.nsw.gov.au/government-and-local-organisations/programs-grants-and-schemes/shepi> but it does not allow tenants to apply for the program, properties are only selected by housing providers so if you experience adverse impacts of indoor temperatures you will need to follow it up with your provider.
The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) has also produced a report on Warm, cool and energy-affordable housing policy solutions for low-income renters<https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/338>. We have earlier mentioned a research project on this topic that we know some social housing tenants are participating in.
WAGEC "This Keeps Women out of Prison" Report
The Women and Girls' Emergency Centre (WAGEC) has launched a new report This Keeps Women Out of Prison<https://www.wagec.org.au/blog/from-now-report-launch-2025/> which shares insights from the first 18 months of its From Now program. From Now is a trauma-informed, purpose-built program supporting women as they transition from prison back into the community. It is informed by women with lived experience and grounded in feminist, culturally responsive practices. The program is proving what we've long known that with the right support, women rarely return to prison instead they rebuild.
New Health Research Facility Approved opposite Waterloo Metro
The Department of planning has advised that the Kurraba Group's New Health Research Facility (SSD-63067458), which was delegated to the City of Sydney, has been approved. The new facility on land located at 74-108 Botany Road and 86-100 Wyndham Street, Alexandria and is one of the early developments on the rezoned Botany Road Corridor. You can find the final documents here<https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/major-projects/projects/new-health-research-facility>.

Regards,

Geoff
Geoffrey Turnbull
REDWatch 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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