The land of the Old Fish Market soon to be vacated for a brand new Fish Market adjacent to the present one would be an ideal site for NSW Government to increase public housing. However, both the previous LNP and now ALP NSW Governments have opted for private development in huge high rise towers.
An artist view of this area once the development is finished.
Hands off Glebe and the community were invited to submit comments on a revised plan for the Fish Market with the title ‘Blackwattle Bay State Significant Precinct Amendment to Area 17 Land Use Mix’. The document states that public, social, build to rent and affordable housing is to be EXCLUDED from this development. Hands off Glebe along with Friends of Ultimo and Pyrmont Action have been getting signatures on ‘open letter to the Premier of NSW’. In the letter we say:
We, the people of NSW, urge the NSW Government to include public and essential worker housing, along with schools and other necessary amenities, in the Blackwattle Bay development. This large publicly owned site is a unique opportunity to address Sydney’s housing crisis, support essential workers, and prioritize community needs over private interests.
The Government claims it is has a plan to identify vacant land and land once found will be put to use to alleviate the housing crisis. This site is a great opportunity to do just that but the Government continues to concentrate its efforts in housing interventions that do not work. The history of Australia’s coping with the housing crisis after WW11 was the successful project of building massive amounts of public housing.
We are calling on all our supporters to attend a rally at the Fish Market on Sat 22nd March