Gwynneville not ready for 'population explosion': residents

Residents of Wollongong’s inner west have blasted the most recent plans for a new residential development in Gwynneville, with a Keiraville Residents Action Group (KRAG) meeting told the project will create “a population explosion” but no additional community facilities.

The special meeting of KRAG was attended by nearly 50 people, including all four Ward Two Wollongong City Councillors.

The urban infill plans, close to the University of Wollongong (UOW), will see an almost 10-fold increase in the number of homes. Over time, the existing 128 private and publicly owned homes will become 1250, mainly apartments in buildings up to six storeys high.

Council recently approved Homes NSW's latest proposal despite misgivings about the project, with less than 20 per cent of community submissions in support of the plan.

At the July 8 KRAG meeting, the majority of concerns raised were about the impact of the infill on traffic, parking and public amenities. For those already living in the precinct, a lack of certainty about timing has them worried.

Lack of traffic plan criticised

KRAG’s Felix Bronneberg said he was shocked that – despite an assessment from Transport for NSW that the current proposal would create problems on the streets – no traffic plan had been developed to assess the real impact.

“In its report to Council, Transport for NSW spelt out how this future residential development would have major implications with many more cars on local streets, yet to date none of this has been addressed adequately by Homes NSW. There’s also been no traffic impact assessment carried out outside the precinct.”

Felix was also critical of the lack of community facilities proposed for a suburb that will grow by more than 2000 people.

“Council has made it very clear there’s no provision for community facilities whatsoever, which is very disappointing.

"It will just become a new dormitory suburb, and there is no social community infrastructure proposed whatsoever. It’s really terrible; we’re going to see a population explosion around here with no provision of additional community facilities.”

Park plans removed

Felix pointed to changing plans for a community park, which was to be created in the heart of the precinct as an easy-access green space for locals and families to enjoy.

“As the plans have been revised, we’ve seen the elimination the central park. Council says it was never meant to be there, which is nonsense.

“We’ve come from a big park with an east-west connection, then it was shrunk in the next version, and now it’s been eliminated completely.

“I know Council says you’ve got the Botanic Garden next door but it’s not the same as having your community’s own garden within your precinct.”

Dozens of private lot owners face an uncertain future, unsure when Homes NSW plans to redevelop in their section of the subdivision, but they have been assured there will be no compulsory acquisition of their properties to enable more medium-density housing in the area.

Criticisms were levelled at Council and Homes NSW for not engaging more with those people directly affected.

“I haven’t had any direct contact from Homes NSW and at the moment we are being treated on an ad-hoc, case-by-case basis,” says private owner Bettina Frankham. “There seems to be an assumption people are either renters or students.

“There is a real problem with that mix of ownership on the site. There’s a gap in the planning that doesn’t consider what’s going on for owners, with no clear pathway for what’s going to happen. There also needs to be adequate compensation for owners if it isn’t viable for them to stay.”

For more than 12 months, KRAG has complained that the Gwynneville housing project was being treated differently to the redevelopment at Bellambi, where there will also be a mix of social, affordable and private housing.

“At Bellambi, Homes NSW boast that they’ve created a ‘People and Place Plan’. Why not do the same here?” Felix said.

Running out of time, says chair

KRAG Chair Geoff Kelly told the meeting that time was running out if the new housing development was going to meet community needs and expectations.

“This is not an argument about whether there should be more social housing. I’m sick of hearing this argument, of course there should. It’s not about whether it should happen, but how it’s done.

“The whole point of this meeting is because we’ve had no meaningful consultation with Council whatsoever, rather than some cast-iron design handed down from on high to say that’s what you’re going to get.

“The so-called consultation held in this room was a pop-up and we are told that’s the only consultation you’re going to get,” Geoff said. “Whatever is developed in the future should actually benefit the community.”

KRAG member Philip Laird suggested the organisation should write to local MP Ryan Park, seeking a “please explain why there’s been such a difference between how locals have been consulted in Bellambi compared to Gwynneville”.

Resolutions carried

Ahead of the latest project plan being exhibited for a two-month consultation period, the meeting carried a number of resolutions. These included that KRAG:

• Expresses its disappointment that Wollongong Council and Homes NSW had not established a comprehensive community engagement strategy at every stage of the process, as recommended by the Local Planning Panel.
• Calls on Council and Homes NSW to implement a full engagement strategy for the remainder of the project.
• Resolves to establish a community working group to engage with Council and Homes NSW with the objective of seeking to establish a formal joint working party comprising representatives of all key stakeholder groups.
• Requests Homes NSW prepare a ‘People and Place Plan’ to guide the social and physical renewal, focusing on housing transitions, support services and placemaking, similar to what was prepared for Bellambi’s housing estate renewal.
• Requests Homes NSW design a clear framework for engagement with private owners in mixed-ownership key sites, with transparent criteria and indicative timelines, not a case-by-case approach.
• Requests Homes NSW develops compensation provisions that reflect the genuine cost of displacement for private owners who are effectively compelled to sell without being in a formal acquisition pathway
• Requests Homes NSW and Council develop, in consultation with residents, a construction management program to minimise the impact of construction on nearby residents, one that protects community amenity, and establishes strict mitigation measures, communications strategies and compliance protocols.

Footnote: Next week, as the two-month consultation period is about to begin, The Illawarra Flame will share the advice given to affected residents by a leading Australian town planner.

Read more: Yesterday Wollongong City Council announced it will seek community input on two key documents to guide development in the Gwynneville precinct