Politics > Politics of Urban Renewal, 2010s-present
Politics of Urban Renewal, 2010s-present
As the plans for Pyrmont were realised in the 2000s and 2010s, residents expected a lull in construction. So close to the Sydney CBD, however, development and redevelopment continued. In Darling Harbour the Convention Centre was pulled down in 2014 and replaced by a new International Convention Centre complex in 2016. The reconstruction of Tumbalong Park followed, including a striking new library, and office and apartment buildings. Meanwhile on the western edge of Pyrmont, the state approached the Bays Precinct cautiously. An international forum in 2015 reviewed many large-scale urban developments. That forum led to discussion groups of businesses, residents and planners to devise an integrated plan for the harbour foreshore around Blackwattle Bay and White Bay. Perhaps predictably, individual projects of manifest urgency emerged, and elbowed aside the discussion groups, planners and consultants.
One such venture was a new Fish Market to replace the crumbling edifice on Blackwattle Bay. Plans were approved and work began in 2020. As the new market is being built at the head of Blackwattle Bay, however, some businesses must be relocated and others built from scratch. A charter boat complex had to be re-housed – on land promised for the Bank Street Foreshore Park; and Glebe Island will be redeveloped as a multi-purpose hub including concrete plants displaced from Bank Street and Pyrmont Bridge Road. That complex will supply concrete for a vehicle tunnel under the Harbour, and for the colossal interchange funnelling traffic to and from the Anzac Bridge as part of the WestConnex transit system. The old Fish Market site itself is proposed to be redeveloped by Infrastructure NSW as a series of 45-storey towers for apartments and offices.
Community criticisms of elements of these plans has been focused by Pyrmont Action (for Pyrmont and Blackwattle Bay) and by the Jacksons Landing Coalition (in relation to Glebe Island).
Recognising the risks of projects proceeding independently, the Department of Planning drafted a strategy to enable a transformation that unlocks innovation and investment to create the jobs of the future, while celebrating the rich heritage and charm of the peninsula.
That is a familiar aspiration.
Sources
Darling Square Library, photo by Martin Mischkulnig