Recent SSH articles have described the proposed Central-to-Eveleigh (C2E) development corridor and its potential impact on some suburbs. Chippendale abuts part of the C2E corridor, and the implications are frightening many residents. Change has been happening in Chippendale for quite a few years. Many of the changes are welcome, but there is also a downside.
Gentrification has seen cashed-up buyers snap up old workers’ terraces for renovation, or move into luxury warehouse-conversion and in-fill apartments. For decades planning authorities have pursued densification, pushing for higher population densities in suburbs near transport hubs – meaning more apartment blocks, extra floors and additions for existing heritage housing.
A recent factor has been the creeping expansion of art galleries, bars and restaurants right into residential areas, supported by City of Sydney policies. The resulting parking congestion and the street noise from revellers leaving venues at night are points of great consternation.
The growth of tertiary institutions within Chippendale is also playing a significant part – with the gradual expansion of the University of Notre Dame’s campus into local streets being compared to the way the University of Sydney gradually took over much of Darlington in earlier years.
Finally, the C2E proposals, and the Central Park development (still only about half-built), appear to justify a long-held fear of so-called “CBD-creep”. As early as the early 1990s, whispers started that Chippendale was designated to become an extension of the CBD. The very high density of the Central Park development and the C2E proposals confirms this suspicion.
The original proportion of commercial occupation at Central Park has now been amended downwards, because the huge Barangaroo project has swallowed up the immediate need for more CBD office space. But the increased residential component, plus the huge growth of eating and drinking venues, threatens to overwhelm Chippendale.
Initial C2E proposals call for large office skyscrapers over and along the rail corridor, which forms one side of Chippendale. This will mean thousands of extra workers and residents imposed on the tiny suburb. Already, residents complain about over-shadowing plus pedestrian, parking and traffic increases arising from Central Park.
Fortunately for the Chippendale community, the northern end of the C2E development is currently designated as a later stage of the proposal. Building over the rail lines north of Cleveland Street will be challenging and would require extremely high towers (at least 80 floors) to justify the engineering costs.
The local community is calling on both state and local government authorities to properly engage with the local community, so that a more balanced, considered and transparent approach is taken to this future planning.
