Councillor Chris Harris

The NSW Department of Housing is planning to build a facility to provide permanent accommodation to around 50 homeless people on Pyrmont Bridge Rd in Camperdown (site pictured on the left).  Based on the successful Common Ground model from New York, formerly homeless people will be housed alongside low income key workers in a building where facilities to help them get back on their feet, such as medical clinics, drug and alcohol counseling, employment services and 24 hour security, will be located on site.  As well as a large number of highly successful projects in the USA a Common Ground style residence now exists in Adelaide and plans are underway for new developments in Melbourne and Brisbane, as well as here in Sydney.  While most organisations that provide homes for the homeless require their clients to undertake drug and alcohol counseling or other such programs prior to being housed, Common Ground has a “housing first” philosophy.  Under this approach clients are given a home and then begin such programs as they move in, dramatically increasing the success rate of the programs as clients are not constantly worrying about where to spend each night. Not only does Common Ground provide basic dignity, security and a way forward for the homeless, it also comes with a lower price tag, and is therefore a better use of tax payers money, than less permanent solutions like crisis accommodation.

While there has been some concern amongst local residents about how this development will affect their neighbourhood, I welcome the project and will be working with my fellow Greens to make sure that it achieves the best possible outcomes for the community – both for those to be housed by it and for those who live nearby.  

The Greens have already achieved some positive changes in the way the project will proceed.  A small area of vacant land will need to be used to allow Common Ground to be built on the site, a fact that has upset many locals as it is one of the only accessible areas of green space nearby.  We discussed this matter with Housing Department staff and secured a commitment that if the development goes ahead there will be no net loss of green space, with an under utilised car park nearby being converted to a park in conjunction with the City of Sydney Council.  Housing NSW initially planned to erect a wall to divide the park into separate areas for residents of separate buildings but have pledged to remove this from their plan since we highlighted the unacceptable “us and them” dichotomy this would create.

There is still more work to be done however and the Greens are continuing to liaise with Housing NSW to highlight the plight of the public housing residents of the Joanna O’Dea building, adjacent to the Common Ground site.  This building, also owned and managed by Housing NSW, is in poor repair and the residents, many of them elderly, have a range of ongoing concerns about security and maintenance.  It would be a most inequitable situation for Housing NSW to build a brand new building with advanced security next door while ignoring the needs of the Joanna O’Dea residents and we will thus be making sure that their concerns are met while the building of Common Ground goes ahead.

By listening to residents and by talking with the state Government we are working to make sure that this important project results in the best outcomes possible for those whom it will house as well as those who will be sharing their community with them.

The Minister for Housing recently announced that a ‘Common Ground’ facility will be built in Camperdown. The project will provide further accommodation for people on the waiting list for public housing, affordable housing for low paid workers and a specialist unit designed to provide stable accommodation to chronically homeless people. The project follows on the heels of a successful Common Ground pilot project in Adelaide and a larger project in Melbourne. These schemes were very successful in housing chronically homeless people and keeping them off the street. Hand in hand with the accommodation is live-in staff who attend to the complex health & substance addiction needs that are frequently present with homeless people.

The project envisages approximately 90 apartments of which around one third will be allocated to the homeless. A new building will be constructed, with the help of Federal stimulus money, on some vacant land owned by Housing NSW. The land is located between the Joanna O’Dea building, on the corner of Pyrmont Bridge Road & Lyons Road, Camperdown, and the Alexander Terraces which are next door and bounded by Pyrmont Bridge Road & Lambert Street.

The Greens welcome the Common Ground project in Sydney and hope that this will be the first of many. However, some of the current tenants of the Alexander Terraces, constructed by the City of Sydney in 1927, will need to be relocated to other public housing in nearby suburbs and any relocations will need to be handled with sensitivity and openness. The Minister for Housing has indicated that these tenants would be assisted with removal expenses and a brief rent holiday.

Two of the tenants I met have been living in the Terraces for 52 years so understandably the prospects of having to move are very unsettling for them. These elderly tenants will require significant support if they have to relocate and The Greens are very concerned to see that Housing NSW gives them the support they need. Housing NSW will also need to keep tenants well informed about whether or not they will be relocated.

A second issue that has been raised by nearby residents is the use of the small piece of land between the Joanna O’Dea building and the Terraces. In recent times this land has been used by non - Housing NSW tenants as a small park and an exercise area for their dogs. A petition which seeks to locate the project away from Camperdown has been circulated by some residents and has added to the uncertainty surrounding the project.

Some residents have been using this vacant land as their local park and are upset at the prospect of losing this to the Common Ground project. In response I have asked the City of Sydney to meet with Housing NSW to investigate the prospects of jointly developing some adjacent open space that forms part of the Joanna Odea complex into a park that can be used by tenants of public housing, the common Ground project and other residents from the local community. This will serve the dual purpose of providing alternative open space for a park and integrating the new project into the community. 

With good management, sensitivity and a cooperative approach between Housing NSW & the City of Sydney we can create an innovative project that begins to tackle homelessness in Sydney and provides more affordable accommodation & open space for local residents. The site is considered ideal, being close to transport, a hospital and the city. It will include a mix of affordable and social housing and there is a timeline in place that should see design and construction plans ready later this month with approval by Christmas.

Below is a Question Without Notice I asked at council meeting on August 31, 2009.

QWN Cr Chris Harris
 
Lord Mayor
 
There has been considerable misinformation circulating about the common ground project in Camperdown and I am asking that the City provide accurate information in response to my question so that all interested parties may be properly informed.
 
1. How many public housing tenants will be moved from the  Alexander Terraces to  accommodate  the new works that will take place for the Common Ground project? Where will these people be rehoused and what assistance will they receive to do so?
2. Please confirm that the vacant land between the  Alexander Terraces and the Joanna O’Dea complex is owned by Housing NSW and is not a City of Sydney Park.
3. Given that this vacant land has been used by local residents as a local park could the CEO meet with the Department of Housing to discuss redeveloping the land that is enclosed on three sides by the Joanna O’Dea building plus the roadside verge adjacent to Lyons Rd that is used for parking cars. What I am suggesting is that the COS and Housing NSW jointly create a  larger park space that can be shared by residents, common ground and public housing tenants.
4. Can you indicate whether the land on the corner of Lyons Rd &  Lambert Street is likely to be dedicated to the City of Sydney via a voluntary planning agreement and if so could this also be dedicated to a park .
 
 

As the Greens Councillor on the City of Sydney Council, I believe the proposed eviction of 8 residents from a Glebe boarding house to make way for a harbour side residential development is an indication of the shameful lack of commitment by Labor governments to provide affordable housing in Sydney. This is at odds with the election material of the Sydney Federal Labor candidate Tanya Plibersek who talks about being concerned about the lack of affordable housing.

The Department of Planning has stated that this development will result in a significant loss of low-cost rental accommodation and a cumulative loss of boarding house accommodation in the area, but has nevertheless given it the go-ahead.

This property, described by the Department as ‘economically unviable’, is covered by SEPP 10, which is the State Environment Planning Policy for the Retention of Low-Cost Rental Accommodation.

SEPP 10 has a ‘get out’ provision that allows the Minister to exempt a boarding house if it is ‘economically unviable’. In very simple terms if the rental yield - which is the rental return in a twelve month period divided by the current market value – is less than 6% then the property is considered economically unviable for affordable housing and may be redeveloped.

With the dramatic escalation of real estate prices since the year 2000 I’d be surprised if you could find any residential real estate for rent in Sydney, affordable or not, that would yield 6%. Given this, it seems that SEPP 10 is pretty well useless for protecting affordable housing in Sydney.

The Department has said that the residents will be given assistance to find alternative accommodation - note this is in no way a guarantee – they will get extended notice of eviction (60 days) and will be given a $500 one-off payment to assist with relocation expenses. However this hardly a commitment to affordable housing and the residents will find themselves evicted at Christmas time in a tight and increasingly expensive rental market.

At the last council meeting (Monday October 29th,2007) I introduced an amendment to the development approval which requires that City staff contact the residents affected by the eviction and offer them assistance in finding alternative accommodation and if necessary advocate for them with public housing authorities. My amendment was supported by all councillors.

The Greens believe that state and federal governments need to make a real and ongoing commitment to building affordable accommodation particularly for the low-to-average wage workers and young people. This will have the environmental benefits of placing workers close to their place of work and reducing car travel plus it will provide equitable support to the millions of people (half the population) who have had no benefit from the real estate boom over the past decade.

SMH article 31/10/07

The Sydney Morning Herald today continues its series on outdated Strata Laws which allow apartment dwellers to be exploited. For links to previous stories, see ’strata scams’ post below. For The Greens’ comprehensive answer to the problems, plus a handy Q&A for apartment dwellers, click the Strata Living box in the right hand sidebar.

To nobody’s surprise, Planning Minister Frank Sartor last weekend approved the concept plan for the Carlton-United Brewery site in Chippendale.

Bitterly opposed by the local community, the $800 million high-rise development will treble the population of the small suburb. While most agree Sydney needs more housing stock, critics of this project say it is rampant overdevelopment, designed not for quality of life and environment but for the profits of big developers.

There will be 1,690 apartments over 11 blocks. The tallest tower, eye-to-eye with the reviled UTS tower, will match it at 120 metres.

These apartments will house up to 2,800 residents. In addition there will be up to 4,800 workers each day occupying the commercial spaces. That’s 7,600 people, equal to several small towns.

The development will be so tall and dense that most of the open space will be sunless in mid-winter. Tall buildings generate wind tunnels in the canyons they create, so it is likely that outdoor living will be impractical in winter.

Even the showpiece park in the site’s centre will be 80% in shade by 2pm in mid-winter (see picture), while in many of the blocks, 40% of apartments will receive little or no direct sunlight.

Then there is parking and traffic. This supposedly environmentally sensitive project will host 2,320 parking spots. Now, only four out of ten dwellings in Chippendale own a car. An independent study for City of Sydney recommended a ratio of .57 spots per apartment, recognising the site is public-transport-rich.

But even before Frank Sartor grabbed planning control of the site, the Central Sydney Planning Committee doubled that ratio (with, interestingly, the support of Clover Moore).

That’s when I resigned in disgust from the Committee. Read the rest of this entry »