The number of rough sleepers in Waterloo dropped in 2021, with only 272 people sleeping on the streets based on the count of City of Sydney staff and volunteers. Whilst this is good news, the government is still looking to provide housing for Waterloo’s non-residents and that includes rough sleepers.
This number is lower compared to last year’s count, with 334. The latest data also revealed that the number of occupancy at crisis and temporary accommodation beds are 9-percent lower compared to 2020, which recorded an 82-percent occupancy rate.
The plan is to include a total of 920 social housing dwellings which is equivalent to 30 percent of all dwellings in Waterloo Estate (South). The proposed redevelopment of Waterloo Estate also includes plans to build 613 affordable housing dwellings.
“To make the sort of impact we saw through the pandemic permanent, Sydney needs more appropriate, long-term social housing and diverse accommodation options, particularly for non- residents, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and people with complex care needs such as brain injuries and trauma who have found themselves on the streets,” Lord Mayor Clover Moore said.
Moore believes the housing project is feasible, given the NSW government already invested a huge amount in temporary accommodation in 2020 to effectively get almost every person sleeping rough into some sort of housing at the height of the pandemic.
Waterloo’s existing social housing
On the northern half of Waterloo Estate lies four 16-storey residential slab buildings that comprise approximately 200 units. One of these is the Joseph Banks block, which has been notorious for squatters for many years.
The local government has been planning to gentrify the area for years now and this leaves some residents worried about the timeline since the project was first announced in 2015. In urban planning, gentrification means the process of changing the character of a neighbourhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses.
But to make way for a higher density mix of social, affordable and private homes, the government needs to relocate around 2500 residents. Tenants have expressed concerns about relocating including loss of social support networks, access to health and support services, and links to their cultural communities.
In line with this, the Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) assured they have made a commitment to a six-month notice period for residents including the assignment of a relocation officer to assist them in the process.
“The City has funded the Redfern Legal Centre to provide tenancy legal support in relation to the relocation process. This program was in place from March 2018 to June 2020. No relocations have taken place during this time due to extended redevelopment timeframes,” Transport, Heritage and Planning Committee stated.