Waterloo housing estate to be redeveloped for rail, new homes

One of Australia’s largest housing estates is to be redeveloped with a new railway line and 10,000 new homes.

Public housing in Sydney’s Waterloo will be redeveloped.

The NSW government will redevelop one of Australia’s largest housing estates with a new railway line and 10,000 new houses.

The Waterloo housing estate, with its 1960s era high rise buildings known as “suicide towers”, will be demolished or redeveloped to make way for a mixture of private, social and affordable housing.

The Baird government has decided to route its proposed metro line under its own public housing estate, instead of servicing Sydney University, with its 50,000 students.

Transport Minister Andrew Constance admitted the Sydney University option was the better solution on a purely transport basis.

Sydney University had even offered to help pay for the line, which would have had better patronage and higher fare collection than the Waterloo option, if the line was routed under its campus.

But Mr Constance said the chance to redevelop a rundown housing estate tipped the balance to Waterloo. This was despite an existing railway line already travelling directly below the housing estate.

Mr Constance said building an extra station on the existing line would be more expensive and more disruptive than building a new line.

He also said he would be working with Sydney University to improve public transport to the campus, including upgrading Redfern station. At the moment, students have to walk about a kilometre from Redfern station.

Premier Mike Baird said they had closely examined the idea of building a new station on the existing airport line but the Metro line station was the better solution.

“The metro station creates the opportunity to transform Waterloo and make it a better place to live for future and existing residents, many of whom are amongst the most vulnerable people in NSW,” Mr Baird said.

“Waterloo Station will help bring new jobs to the area as well as providing a direct public transport link to employment hubs at Barangaroo and Martin Place.”

The Minister for Planning Rob Stokes said that the government would use “value capture”’ - or adding levies or taxes to existing land holders or developers — to help pay for the metro line.

The government is relying on at least $1bn in funding from this mechanism for the Parramatta to Strathfield light rail line it announced last week.

Housing Minister Brad Hazzard guaranteed that existing residents of the Waterloo estate would be able to return to their neighbourhood after redevelopment, which is planned over the next 15-20 years. The first relocations are not expected until mid-2017.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for renewal and it will deliver better outcomes for some of the most vulnerable people in NSW,’’ he said.

“I can assure Waterloo tenants that if they want to remain in Waterloo after the development, they can do so.”

The new neighbourhood will be one of the mostly densely settled areas of Australia, with up to 70 per cent of new dwellings being private housing.