An online forum by the Redfern-based residents group REDWatch on February 3 heard from activists concerned about the New South Wales government’s Waterloo South social housing redevelopment.
NSW Minister of Planning and Public Spaces Rob Stokes approved revised plans for Waterloo South to go on public exhibition last June. Four years earlier, he declared it a State Significant Precinct, allowing the government to overrule the City of Sydney’s planning rules.
In just its first stage, the government wants 3000 homes built in towers reaching 30 storeys with only 27% or 847 dwellings allocated to social housing.
The Waterloo estate currently consists of three precincts: Waterloo North, Waterloo Central and Waterloo South. Waterloo South is almost all public housing, and comprises 65% of the estate.
The City Hub reported last July that the Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) and the City of Sydney had endorsed the development of 920 social housing units and 613 affordable renting housing units.
Jenny Leong, Greens MLA for Newtown, said the plan would disadvantage public housing occupants who would be “displaced” during the redevelopment and by the time it’s done “only 27% of the site will be social housing”. This means more than 60% of it will be turned over to the private housing market, she said.
The REDWatch forum heard from urban renewal campaigner and former public housing resident Dr Tim Williams, researcher Laura Crommelin and architect and researcher at University of New South Wales Philip Thalis.
Williams, who grew up in public housing, said the Waterloo development could “create an opportunity for a mixed community, to integrate services required to bring multicultural, different backgrounds and social-economical individuals together”.
He said a development of this scale “should reflect the local culture”, but that “democratic discussion about place making before, during and after this project should happen”.
Williams criticised the tall tower option, saying that designs need “appropriate scale to suit an inclusive ambience”. “A building design of a dense residential area requires an abundance of walkability. It must be easy for people to mix and integrate throughout and outside of the area.”
Former councillor Thalis outlined efforts by the City of Sydney to improve the government’s plans, including arranging the tall buildings differently to create a large central park within a highly walkable precinct.
Crommelin addressed the problems associated with high rise developments, urging a design process that creates a social mix. “Lower income and vulnerable residents are more affected by the downsides of high-density living … [including] the sourcing and purchasing of goods and services.”
Andrew Chuter, housing activist and a Socialist Alliance candidate, told Green Left that the proposal to privatise more than 70% of this public housing estate is “shameful”. He said the critical shortage of public housing means the government “must build around 15,000 new public homes per year to meet demand”.
“The NSW government’s ‘Communities Plus’ model implies that public housing should be revenue neutral," Chuter said. "The end result is an ever-diminishing cycle of selling public housing land to fund new construction. Public housing is a public good, just like schools and hospitals. We must tax big companies and the wealthy to fund it properly.”
Meanwhile, Action for Public Housing launched a petition calling on the government to reconsider its plans to sell off a vacant block in Redfern and to instead develop it as 100% public housing.
[Sign the Action for Public Housing petition. The Proposed Waterloo South development plan is slated to go on public exhibition in early 2022. Feedback can be sent here.]