One year after its assessment with the City of Sydney, the planned social housing development on Elizabeth Street in Redfern has still not moved forward.
Council said that it has assessed the planning proposal “in less than three and a half months” following the submission from NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) in February 2020. However, public consultation and community engagement for this Redfern site have not yet started.
But the Council’s website for their housing project stated that it is still under assessment and “will be reported to Council and the Central Sydney Planning Committee for consideration.” The page also did not have any timeframes for the release of the assessment report.
NSW Housing Minister Melinda Pavey said that the project has been stalled because Council prioritises “politics before people.” Ms Pavey also enumerated delays in the development of the Waterloo and Glebe housing projects.
LAHC planned to develop 600-660 Elizabeth Street, a state-owned land, into a residential precinct with 4-storeys, 8-storeys and 16-storeys buildings. The block also surrounds Phillip, Walker and Kettle Streets.
The agency took over the development after the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces announced a new approach to the Redfern development in 2019. This project supposed to be the first state-supported build-to-rent residential development in the country and would be undertaken closely with the City of Sydney.
The Elizabeth Street housing development was primed for 351 dwellings with 70 percent of the units set as build-to-own homes for low-income families.
The State Government increased the budget for social housing to $812 million due to the pandemic. The move was aimed at economic recovery and to help the most vulnerable sectors.