At Shelter NSW, we have repeatedly made known our dismay at LAHC’s approach to knock-down and rebuild proposals of public housing properties that a) are not that old!, b) unnecessarily disrupt long-term tenants, and c) do not deliver enough replacement public housing dwellings to be considered a worthwhile exercise.

A Development Application is before the City of Sydney Council for the demolition of public housing at 82 Wentworth Park Road, Glebe. This site is home to 20+ residents, many of whom have lived here since the estate was first built. We view it as a no-brainer that additional social housing properties should be delivered in a strategic way in the neighbouring State-significant Blackwattle Bay renewal site, rather than ‘cannibalising’ existing public housing estates.

Last month, we put in a submission on this DA, calling for greater consideration of embodied energy/sustainability principles to be examined for the demolition of relatively young buildings (35-40 years old). We also requested binding commitments (above-and-beyond indicative sentences in the DA) be made to ensure that IF the demolition goes ahead, the site will be retained in public ownership for the purposes of public housing.

You can find out more about Hands Off Glebe, Action for Public Housing, and the tenants fighting to save their homes at 82 Wentworth Park Road here.