The Department of Education is undertaking a review of Inner West and Inner West primary school catchments.

They have developed a survey and one question asks people to consider alignment between primary and secondary intake areas as well any aspects of your school’s existing intake area that create challenges for the community when accessing your school.

There has been concern in the northern part of Darlington and Redfern about not being in the intake area for the Inner Sydney High School. Parts of these suburbs to the west of Redfern Station are instead in the Alexandria Park Community High School intake area.

If there was a bridge over the railway line at Carriageworks then Alexandria Park would be close to Darlington and the new housing proposed for North Eveleigh. But Transport for NSW still opposes this bridge, meaning children going to high school from Darlington
have very long trips via Redfern Station to Alexandria Park.

The infographic below shows the problem for Darlington parents and their children.

You can see the intake areas on https://schoolfinder.education.nsw.gov.au/

You can do the Inner West and Inner City Primary Schools survey –
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/86XSLDV

You can tell Department of Education they too should push Transport NSW for a Bridge.

You can support the Build a Bridge Campaign supported by REDWatch, Alexandria Residents Action Group (ARAG) and Friends of Erskineville (FoE) at https://actionnetwork.org/letters/build-a-bridge

Residents Online Survey – Let us know what is important to you.

ARAG, Friends of Erskineville and Redwatch will be jointly hosting a Candidates Forum next month for this years Federal Election.

As in past years, before each election, Candidates are invited to speak at the forum and asked to address three important issues. These topics are voted by the residents and community via a survey.

The forum is to be scheduled at the Alexandria Town Hall. A date will be advised once the election date is finalised.

In the meantime, here’s a chance to have your say. Click on the survey below and tell us, as a resident, what issues matter to you the most. Once the survey is closed, the top three topics voted by the community, will be forwarded to the Candidates to address on the night in their opening forums.

Complete the short survey below by scanning the QR code or click the link here

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LF3Y2ZJ

Please feel free to share this link to your Alexandria, Erskineville & Redfern/Waterloo community contacts and your local neighhood FB pages.

A developer has put in a Development Application to put a six-storey apartment building on the former site of a single storey house with an area of 271.8 sqm at 158 Wyndham Street, Alexandria, directly opposite Alexandria Park.

Information on the DA: D/2024/803
Click this link to view the DA documentation: https://eplanning.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/Pages/XC.track/SearchApplication.aspx?id=2418075

How to Submit An Objection to the DA
If you wish to submit an objection to the DA, a template has been prepared by community members who have thoroughly read the documentation & have outlined key issues and reasons of serious concern. Feel free to use this objection sample letter – you can copy and paste the content you wish to use for your objection and email to City of Sydney Planning. Click here to access the template letter’s pdf.

Where do I email the objection
The DA objection must be submitted using the following email address: dasubmissions@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au

In the subject of the email, please put the following: Submission – D/2024/803 – 158 Wyndham Street ALEXANDRIA NSW 2015 – Attention Samantha Kruize, Senior Planner

Closing Date
The closing date of the exhibiton is 30 October, 2024 but submissions will be accepted after this date.

Recent News Article

The City of Sydney Council election is coming up in September.

Alexandria Residents Action Group, Friends of Erskineville and Redwatch will be hosting a Candidates Forum on 21 August 2024 at the Alexandria Town Hall, Garden Street, Alexandria at 7pm.  

So you can hear about the things important to you, we have invited the Lord Mayoral candidates to ask them to talk about the things that are important to you and your community.

Please complete the survey by going to  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8DJJMHB  or scan the QR code and let us know what you’d like the candidates to talk about on the night.

Pass on to your neighbours and here’s a time to Have Your Say to make our issues count.

Eveleigh Pedestrian & Cycling Bridge Campagin Update –

Help get to over 2000 signatures by signing the petition campaign for an active transport bridge across the tracks at Eveleigh before 13 May 2023. Click here to please sign.

This is a joint campaign of Friends of Erskineville, REDwatch and Alexandria Residents Action Group.

Did you know that in 2006 the State Government found the plans to build a bridge across the rail corridor connecting North & South Eveleigh, not only feasible on the location proposed, but promised to fund it and have it completed by 2008. They are now saying they can “find no suitable crossing site that is financially feasible or appropriate”. This is unacceptable.

The number of people living and working in around the Redfern to Erskenville is growing rapidly & we need an active transport corridor to connect both sides of the railway line divide.

The City of Sydney, Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, has agreed to table the petition at the next council meeting on 13 May 2024. The City of Sydney will have a motion at this meeting to support the campaign and advocate strongly to the State Government for it’s construction.

Please help reach a goal of over 2000 signatures before 13 May 2023 by signing the petition here.

Locals all know the rail corridor from Erskineville to Redfern is a divide through the area that means long travel distances between Carriageworks, Darlington and Sydney Uni on one side to Eveleigh, Alexandria and Waterloo on the other. When the Sydney Metro opens at Waterloo, students will face a 30 minute walk to Sydney Uni campus. This bridge could cut that by 10 minutes.

North and South Eveleigh connection

Potential site

Plans from April 2007

An example of a bridge that could bring our communities together.

News article from September 2006.

Each petition signature triggers an email to the NSW Minister for Transport Jo Haylen, so get clicking and make sure she gets the message loud and clear: build the bridge!

Friends of Erskineville, REDwatch and Alexandria Residents Action Group.

The Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) has placed on public exhibition a proposal to rezone the Explorer Street South Eveleigh public housing. The Explorer Street is off Henderson Road, near Newton, Alexandria. There are currently 46 public housing townhouse on the site, along with South Sydney Rotary Park.

The planned re-zoning means the existing public housing units will be demolished and be replaced by 400 homes to be built on the site, with a mix of 30% social housing (120), 20% affordable housing (80) and 50% private dwellings.

Exhibition has been extended from 17 November to 1 December. Community feedback submissions are closed 1 December 2023

Where to submit feedback. Close date 1 December 2023.
https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/draftplans/exhibition/explorer-street-rezoning-proposal

How to Respond to the proposal:
The following is a template with some considerations you may want to use in the response to the re-zoing application:

Further information:

REDWATCH http://www.redwatch.org.au/RWA/Explorer/231016redwes

FRIENDS OF ERSKINEVILLE: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/oppose-the-demolition-of-explorer-st-public-housing