Residents oppose residential plans on Unwin Street, Earlwood

A fight to save a vacant lot riddled with asbestos from residential development has sparked concerns from residents who claim destroying the green-space would be “disastrous” and “disappointing”.

Fears that 14-18 Unwin St could be transformed into a residential development have been voiced by the community, including Unwin St resident Lydia Feng.

A fight to save a vacant lot riddled with asbestos from residential development has sparked concerns from residents who claim destroying the green-space would be “disastrous” and “disappointing”.

The NSW Office of Strategic Lands sent a “disappointing and distressing” letter informing residents the government-owned land on 14-18 Unwin Street, Earlwood “may be identified as most suitable for housing delivery” in March.

The site connects two green-corridors in Sydney’s inner-west – the Cooks River Corridor through the bottom of Unwin street and the entrance to Wolli Creek Regional Park.

Unwin St resident of more than 10 years Lydia Feng, has fought the proposal for two years and said the “important green space” needs to be saved as there aren’t enough open spaces in Earlwood.

14-18 Unwin Street. Picture: Supplied.

“We strongly oppose it (to convert the land into housing) because of the site’s ecological significance as all the public and private land that can be used for housing has already been built on,” she said.

“It’s a critical green space and is the missing link for the two corridors and you need space to join them to give the small birds spaces to forage and use the site as a stepping stone between the two bushlands.”

The site was also found riddled with non-friable asbestos in July 2022 after Environmental consultants JBS&G were engaged to undertake a Preliminary Site Investigation which found illegally dumped waste debris in heavily vegetated areas of the site.

Unwin St resident Lydia Feng opposes using the vacant blocks for residential development.

The Office of Strategic Lands (OSL) from the Department of Planning spokesman said bonded asbestos with an approximate area of 20sq m was found in the rear southern portion of the site.

“Material that may have included bonded asbestos was cleaned up by contractors in June 2023,” the spokesman said.

“Soil testing did not detect any contamination in the soil and an asbestos management plan for the three lots 14,16 and 18 Unwin St was prepared in October 2023.”

Fencing and warning signage has been erected to secure the site and advise people not to enter.

Ms Feng said the findings “proved” the site was unsuitable for housing and was a safety issue for future residents.

“We want the material to be cleaned up but by using the best and minimal hazardous approach… if they use machinery it has a risk of the asbestos becoming airborne,” she said.

14-18 Unwin Street. Picture: Supplied.

An OSL spokesman said a remedial action plan to remediate the site is expected to be completed by July 2024 and the reports will be made publicly available.

This comes after Canterbury-Bankstown council called on the Department of Planning to investigate options to transform Unwin St into a ‘green corridor’ in last year’s April council meeting.

An OSL spokesman said a “decision on the future use of these sites has not yet been made”.

“The government is progressively assessing all of its land holdings to identify sites that are surplus to service delivery and infrastructure requirements and that may be repurposed for alternate uses including housing and open space,” he said.