MOD 7 - Expand retail uses into Innovation Plaza

I object to the extension of operation hours to 1am. My property is located opposite the entrance to Technology Park innovation Plaza.
Previously when events have been held until midnight at Technology Park where alcohol is served people funnel out onto the street in front of my property usually to await their Uber or taxi. The noise from this congregation of drunk people is often very noisy and anti social. Having lived in the property for 5 years I have lost count of the amount of times i have been woken after midnight to the sound of loud drunken voices hanging around for extended periods of time whilst they await their ride.
If the hours are extended until 1am then this will be something i will no doubt experience on a regular if not daily basis past 1am and most likely stretching towards 2am.
This change of operational hours will potentially severely impact my health and therefore my job and my ability to provide for my family.
This issue should have been foreseen by the Architects and/or town planners of this development and could have been accounted for by providing a pickup area for ride share and taxi services that is away from residential buildings. Unfortunately this has not happened hence the reason for my objection.
The development design should be modified by moving the boom gates back or removing them, and creating an area for taxi or ride share pickups a long way away from residential properties prior to any further extension of the hours of operation.
Sincerely

Don't destroy the total fabric of these 1877 historic rail workshops. Mirvac require a superb reminder to the Age of Steam. The men the profile of a big rail family. Respect those that served at Eveleigh. The 1925 heritage Davy Bros. press leave the earthen floor the way it was when I served at the shops and press.
Talk to Harley and again Kim. I made special requests re preservation of the icon after all the Smithsonian Inst noted Eveleigh to the Victorian world scene.
Thank you Richard.

Please see attached.

Submission relating to DA 8517 Mod 7-Retail Expansion Eveleigh Locomotive Workshops
I want to express my opposition to the application by Mirvac to modify the development consent applying to the reuse of the Locomotive Workshops by extending food and beverage uses into the public land that constitutes Innovation Plaza. This will have the effect of permanently dividing this public space into private and public spaces. The application should be rejected.

The public land that makes Innovation Plaza is the subject of many environmental planning instruments covering zoning and land use including, the Environmental and Planning Act 1979; State Environmental Planning Policy (State Significant Precincts) 2005; Redfern –Waterloo Built Environment Plan (Stage One) and covenants and easements which relate to the public rights for use and the purposes for which zoning had been determined. ( See ATP Sale Positive Covenant-Public Access and the ATP Sale-Easement for Access.) No mention is made in the retail expansion Application of the impact on the rights of the public, the citizens of NSW.

The legislation has determined that Innovation Plaza is exclusively zoned as public land for the purpose of public recreation. The Easement provides that “any authorised User has a full, free and unimpeded right to enter the Public access areas for the purpose of public passive recreation ..”

Previous development applications for the Australian Technology Park site, (bought by Mirvac from the NSW Government in late 2015) have focussed on the development of three commercial buildings and the repurposing of the Locomotive Workshop for retail and commercial purposes. There has been scant attention paid to the development of the public domain and in particular Innovation Plaza, which has taken a back seat.

Why after 5 years of private ownership, has a community-orientated plan for the entire Innovation Plaza not been developed to create an imaginative public recreation space? Draft concept plans have been produced by the applicant for the Plaza e.g pocket park, kids’ education play, fun plaza furniture, differing weekday and weekend activities, lunchtime activities, a pavilion with public art, creation of space for outdoor cinema utilising the northern boundary for the Plaza etc. These concept plans have not seen the light of day and little attempt has been made to engage in dialogue with the public about the future of the Plaza for public recreation purposes.

I strongly argue that the current application be rejected, and a concerted effort is made to develop a comprehensive plan for Innovation Plaza that ensures its use as a public area and that reflects the important history of this highly significant industrial site.

Re: DA 8517 Mod 7-Retail Expansion Eveleigh Locomotive Workshops

I write to strongly urge the rejection of the Mirvac modification proposal to significantly expand retail services in Innovation Plaza as part of the redeveloped Locomotive Workshops. The expressed purpose of this expansion is to provide increased flexibility however, this conceals a major attempt to commercialise and therefore privatise previously agreed public lands and so cut off permanently a range of possible public uses of public amenities. It is very suspicious that such an extensive revision of this development is proposed via a modification application (over the Xmas-New Year break!) rather than in the original main developer submission where it would have received much more intense scrutiny especially in terms of public access and amenity. This suggests that it is an underhanded attempt to achieve maximum profit by stealth, and for this reason alone should be rejected.

There are a range of other omissions that this modification proposal makes. These include no mention of what COVID-safe features need to be included, but especially spelling out the range of effects on public use such as, the impact on pedestrian and cycle flows through and around the Plaza for the planned 10,000 strong local daily workforce and other potential users.

To restate, the Department should reject this Mirvac application since it seeks to significantly undermine the legislated determination that Innovation Plaza is exclusively zoned as public land for the purpose of public recreation.

Hi,

In relation to MIRVAC's modification application to the expansion of retail uses in Innovation Plaza, the Owner's Corporation of the ARIANE Building is concerned about extending the hours of operation of publicly accessible areas from 6 am to 1am.

The ARIANE building, facing both Cornwallis Street and Margaret lane, will be exposed to extended foot traffic and noise from patrons returning from the Innovation Plaza as individuals and groups make their way back to the Redfern train station and bus areas.

If proceeding with these extended hours, well past Sydney's noise curfew both at night and in the morning, we are asking that MIRVAC compensates the residents of the ARIANE apartments facing the areas affected with increased foot traffic by covering the cost of double glazing the windows.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Jean-Baptiste Aubrun, Chairman of ARIANE's STRATA Comittee; on behalf of the owner's corporation.

Please find attached Heritage Council response to SSD8517-MOD 7.

Regards
David

I write to oppose to the application by Mirvac to modify the development consent applying to the reuse of the Eveleigh Locomotive Workshops by extending food and beverage uses into the public land that constitutes Innovation Plaza. The application should be rejected.
Mirvac wants the Department to approve its retail expansion application to allow the permanent use of the western portion of Innovation Plaza for retail use, dramatically increased outdoor seating areas, and to establish two built structures and two awnings.
In addition the application seeks to extend the hours of operation from 6am to midnight to 6am to 1am, for all Locomotive Workshop retail tenants, not only for retail uses in the Plaza. This is a backdoor change for the whole site and should be rejected. No evidence has been offered to show why this change would be positive.
I call your attention to the Application’s Attachment B- Amended Public Domain Plan and Attachment C -Heritage Impact Statement.
The retail expansion application is not a minor matter, but is a dramatic change, seeking to commercialise the western side of Innovation Plaza which will have the effect of permanently dividing this public space into private and public spaces.
The public land that makes Innovation Plaza is the subject of many environmental planning instruments covering zoning and land use including, the Environmental and Planning Act 1979; State Environmental Planning Policy (State Significant Precincts) 2005; Redfern –Waterloo Built Environment Plan (Stage One) and covenants and easements which relate to the public rights for use and the purposes for which zoning had been determined. But the Mirvac Application does not mention the impact on the rights of the public, the citizens of NSW.
The legislation has determined that Innovation Plaza is exclusively zoned as public land for the purpose of public recreation. The Easement provides that “any authorised User has a full, free and unimpeded right to enter the Public access areas for the purpose of public passive recreation ..”
The documentation for this application contains no quantification of the amount of seating that will be required for the food and beverage premises, no indication of the materials that will be used for the structures and their precise location. These are to be determined in a separate application which does not allow for community participation.
Previous development applications for the Australian Technology Park site, (bought by Mirvac from the NSW Government in late 2015) have focussed on the development of three commercial buildings and the repurposing of the Locomotive Workshop for retail and commercial purposes.
There has been scant attention paid to the development of the public domain and in particular Innovation Plaza, which has taken a back seat. Innovation Plaza has flown under the radar and its future has not been the subject of widespread community consultation. This is a major planning and policy failure.
Innovation Plaza consists of 3675.8 square meters of public land and the Application agues it will only excise 18% or 671.8 square metres of the footprint needed for the implementation of the retail expansion application.
It fails to take into account that a significant part of the northern Innovation Plaza has been affected by the insertion of a loading dock with three truck bays directly into the Locomotive Workshops through Innovation Plaza, thus directly impacting on public amenity and potential recreation use.
The Application does not take into account the impact on pedestrian and cycle flows through Innovation Plaza, the major transit corridor for the precinct. Nor does it refer to the Plaza as the green boulevard with its two rows of mature trees providing a haven for the local 10,000 strong workforce to socialise, network and have a lunchtime break.
The Plaza is at the heart of and integral to the heritage-listed 19th century buildings that remain in the Australian Technology Park precinct because the two most important ones, the Locomotive Workshops and the National Locomotive Centre both adjoin the Plaza and provide the best opportunity to enjoy the industrial aesthetics of the exceptional examples of late 19th century public industrial architecture.
The retail expansion Application does not mention the heritage machinery currently located in the Plaza and whether they will be relocated or added to the collection, nor does it refer to the social and labour history that was the result of 100 years of occupation by tens of thousands of industrial workers employed in a myriad of skilled occupations that manufactured, assembled and repaired locomotives for the NSW railways. These are major omissions.
The Application also refers to a circulation path adjacent to the Locomotive Workshop. How large will it will be and will it be closed to the public? A fleeting reference is made to an option for events and two bar / keg structures. What are the implications of these?
Why, after five years of private ownership, hasn’t a community-oriented plan for the entire Innovation Plaza been developed to create an imaginative public recreation space? Draft concept plans have been produced by the Applicant for the Plaza e.g. pocket park, kids’ education play, fun plaza furniture, differing weekday and weekend activities, lunchtime activities, a pavilion with public art, creation of space for outdoor cinema utilising the northern boundary for the Plaza etc.
These concept plans have not seen the light of day and little attempt has been made to engage in dialogue with the public about the future of the Plaza for public recreation purposes.
The retail expansion Application asserts that Modification 7 will “provide significant public benefits" and is in “the public interest.” But an examination of these assertions indicates that neither is true. Vague references are made to place activation, improved social destination. But the outcome will be that patrons will have to pay to enjoy the heritage listed buildings and industrial aesthetic. It is all about a few private individuals enjoying the commercialisation of retail activities on public land.
An alternative to the Retail Expansion Application could provide significant public benefits and almost unlimited opportunities to transform public land into an imaginative multi-purpose pubic recreation place, following dialogue with the public that would benefit all current and future generations of NSW citizens.

My submission is opposed to the application by Mirvac to modify the development consent applying to the reuse of the Locomotive Workshops by extending food and beverage uses into the pubic land that constitutes Innovation Plaza. The application should be rejected. As an artsworker, I have had a positive relationship over the years with the site going back to the 80s when the site was still an active railway workshop. The site is of significant industrial heritage value and continues to have public benefits and almost unlimited potential for use as an imaginative multi-purpose site of public art and recreation, a place that would benefit current and future generations of NSW citizens.
The retail expansion application seeks Departmental approval to allow the permanent use of the western portion of Innovation Plaza for retail use, dramatically increased outdoor seating areas, (with no supporting analysis of the impact of complying with Covid restrictions for seating, circulating , customer numbers etc.) to establish two built structures and two awnings.
Further, the application seeks to extend the hours of operation from 6 am to midnight to 6 am to 1 am. This variation would apply to all Locomotive Workshop retail tenants not solely to retail uses in the Plaza and is not underpinned by any evidence showing a need for change. The stated reason is flexibility but appears to be a backdoor route for a significant alteration to the conditions of consent for all retail tenants of the Locomotive Workshops. It should be rejected.
The retail expansion application includes 4 Appendices, the more important ones being Attachment B- Amended Public Domain Plan and Attachment C -Heritage Impact Statement.
This submission argues that major public policy issues are raised by this Application. Ordinarily in the development of sites, an application to modify an existing development application by lodging a Modification Application would be uncontroversial as they cover very minor matters. The previous 6 modifications applying to the reuse of the Locomotive Workshops certainly fit into this category.
The retail expansion application however is dramatically different in that it seeks to commercialise the western side of Innovation Plaza which will have the effect of permanently dividing this public space into private and public spaces.
The public land that makes Innovation Plaza is the subject of many environmental planning instruments covering zoning and land use including, the Environmental and Planning Act 1979; State Environmental Planning Policy (State Significant Precincts) 2005; Redfern –Waterloo Built Environment Plan (Stage One) and covenants and easements which relate to the public rights for use and the purposes for which zoning had been determined. ( See ATP Sale Positive Covenant-Public Access and the ATP Sale-Easement for Access.) No mention is made in the retail expansion Application of the impact on the rights of the public, the citizens of NSW.
The legislation has determined that Innovation Plaza is exclusively zoned as public land for the purpose of public recreation. The Easement provides that “any authorised User has a full, free and unimpeded right to enter the Public access areas for the purpose of public passive recreation ..”
This submission argues there are a number of disquieting features about the development process and this modification application. The documentation for this application contains no quantification of the amount of seating that will be required for the food and beverage premises, no indication of the materials that will be used for the structures and their precise location. These are to be determined in a separate application which does not allow for community participation.
Previous development applications for the Australian Technology Park site, (bought by Mirvac from the NSW Government in late 2015) have focussed on the development of three commercial buildings and the repurposing of the Locomotive Workshop for retail and commercial purposes.
There has been scant attention paid to the development of the public domain and in particular Innovation Plaza, which has taken a back seat. Innovation Plaza has flown under the radar and its future has not been the subject of widespread community consultation. This is a major planning and policy failure.
An examination of the documentation underpinning the Application reveals several grey areas and non-inclusion of important issues.
For example, Innovation Plaza consists of 3675.8 square meters of public land and the application argues it will only excise 18% or 671.8 square metres of the footprint needed for the implementation of the retail expansion application.
It fails to take into account that a significant part of the northern Innovation Plaza has been affected by the insertion of a loading dock with truck 3 bays directly into the Locomotive Workshops through Innovation Plaza thus directly impacting on public amenity and potential recreation use.
The application does not take into account the impact on pedestrian and cycle flows through Innovation Plaza, the major transit corridor for the precinct. Nor does it refer to the Plaza as the green boulevard with its two rows of mature trees providing a haven for the local 10,000 strong workforce to socialise, network and have a lunchtime break.
The Plaza is at the heart and integral to the heritage-listed 19th century buildings that remain in the 13.2 acre Australian Technology Park precinct because the two most important ones, the Locomotive Workshops and the National Locomotive Centre both adjoin the Plaza and provide the best opportunity to enjoy the industrial aesthetics of the exceptional examples of late 19th century public industrial architecture.
The retail expansion Application does not mention if heritage machinery currently located in the Plaza and whether they will be relocated or the collection added to nor does it refer to the social and labour history that was the result of 100 years of occupation by tens of thousands of industrial workers employed in a myriad of skilled occupations that manufactured, assembled and repaired locomotives for the NSW railways. These are major omissions.
A number of other questions are raised by the Application. There is reference to a circulation path adjacent to the Locomotive Workshop. How large will it be and will it be closed to the public? A fleeting reference is made an option for events and two bar /keg structures. What are the implications of these?
The sleeper issue and $64,000 question is, why after 5 years of private ownership, hasn’t a community orientated plan for the entire Innovation Plaza been developed to create an imaginative public recreation space? Draft concept plans have been produced by the applicant for the Plaza e.g pocket park, kids’ education play, fun plaza furniture, differing weekday and weekend activities, lunchtime activities, a pavilion with public art, creation of space for outdoor cinema utilising the northern boundary for the Plaza etc.
These concept plans have not seen the light of day and little attempt has been made to engage in dialogue with the public about the future of the Plaza for public recreation purposes.
The retail expansion Application argues that the Modification 7 will “provide significant public benefits" and is in “the public interest.” This submission argues that an examination of these assertions indicates it is neither. Vague and undocumented references are made to place activation, improved social destination, the ability of patrons to comfortably enjoy the heritage-listed buildings and industrial aesthetic and the transformation of the Plaza into a leisure place for those who can pay.
The unstated, the underlying premise is based on opportunities for a few private individuals to enjoy the commercialisation of retail activities on public land and the ability to pay to access these private benefits.
An alternative to the Retail Expansion Application that provides significant public benefits and potentially unlimited opportunities to transform public land into an imaginative multi-purpose site for public art and recreation, based on community consultation and public dialogue, would benefit, all current and future generations of NSW citizens.

28 January 2021

My submission is opposed to the application by Mirvac to modify the development consent applying to the reuse of the Locomotive Workshops by extending food and beverage uses into the pubic land that constitutes Innovation Plaza. The application should be rejected.
The retail expansion application seeks Departmental approval to allow the permanent use of the western portion of Innovation Plaza for retail use, dramatically increased outdoor seating areas,( with no supporting analysis of the impact of complying with Covid restrictions for seating, circulating ,customer numbers etc.) to establish two built structures and an two awnings.
In addition the application seeks to extend the hours of operation from 6am to midnight to 6am to 1am.This variation would apply to all Locomotive Workshop retail tenants not solely to retail uses in the Plaza and is not underpinned by any evidence showing a need for change. The stated reason is flexibility but appears to be a backdoor route for a significant alteration to the conditions of consent for all retail tenants of the Locomotive Workshops. It should be rejected.
The retail expansion application includes 4 Appendices, the more important ones being Attachment B- Amended Public Domain Plan and Attachment C -Heritage Impact Statement.
This submission argues that major public policy issues are raised by this Application. Ordinarily in the development of sites an application to modify an existing development application by lodging a Modification Application would be uncontroversial as they cover very minor matters. The previous 6 modifications applying to the reuse of the Locomotive Workshops certainly fit into this category.
The retail expansion application however is dramatically different in that it seeks to commercialise the western side of Innovation Plaza which will have the effect of permanently dividing this public space into private and public spaces.
The public land that makes Innovation Plaza is the subject of many environmental planning instruments covering zoning and land use including, the Environmental and Planning Act 1979; State Environmental Planning Policy (State Significant Precincts) 2005; Redfern –Waterloo Built Environment Plan (Stage One) and covenants and easements which relate to the public rights for use and the purposes for which zoning had been determined. ( See ATP Sale Positive Covenant-Public Access and the ATP Sale-Easement for Access.) No mention is made in the retail expansion Application of the impact on the rights of the public, the citizens of NSW.
The legislation has determined that Innovation Plaza is exclusively zoned as public land for the purpose of public recreation. The Easement provides that “any authorised User has a full, free and unimpeded right to enter the Public access areas for the purpose of public passive recreation ..”
This submission argues there are a number of disquieting features about the development process and this modification application. The documentation for this application contains no quantification of the amount of seating that will be required for the food and beverage premises, no indication of the materials that will be used for the structures and their precise location. These are to be determined in a separate application which does not allow for community participation.
Previous development applications for the Australian Technology Park site, (bought by Mirvac from the NSW Government in late 2015) have focussed on the development of three commercial buildings and the repurposing of the Locomotive Workshop for retail and commercial purposes.
There has been scant attention paid to the development of the public domain and in particular Innovation Plaza, which has taken a back seat. Innovation Plaza has flown under the radar and its future has not been the subject of widespread community consultation. This is a major planning and policy failure.
An examination of the documentation underpinning the Application reveals a number of grey areas and non-inclusion of important issues.
For example, Innovation Plaza consists of 3675.8 square meters of public land and the application agues it will only excise 18% or 671.8 square metres of the footprint needed for the implementation of the retail expansion application.
It fails to take into account that a significant part of the northern Innovation Plaza has been affected by the insertion of a loading dock with truck 3 bays directly into the Locomotive Workshops through Innovation Plaza thus directly impacting on public amenity and potential recreation use.
The application does not take into account the impact on pedestrian and cycle flows through Innovation Plaza, the major transit corridor for the precinct. Nor does it refer to the Plaza as the green boulevard with its two rows of mature trees providing a haven for the local 10,000 strong workforce to socialise, network and have a lunchtime break.
The Plaza is at the heart and integral to the heritage listed 19th century buildings that remain in the 13.2 acre Australian Technology Park precinct because the two most important ones, the Locomotive Workshops and the National Locomotive Centre both adjoin the Plaza and provide the best opportunity to enjoy the industrial aesthetics of the exceptional examples of late 19th century public industrial architecture.
The retail expansion Application does not mention if heritage machinery currently located in the Plaza and whether they will be relocated or the collection added to nor does it refer to the social and labour history that was the result of 100 years of occupation by tens of thousands of industrial workers employed in a myriad of skilled occupations that manufactured, assembled and repaired locomotives for the NSW railways. These are major omissions.
A number of other questions are raised by the Application. There is reference to a circulation path adjacent to the Locomotive Workshop. How large will it will be and will it be closed to the public? A fleeting reference is made an option for events and two bar /keg structures. What are the implications of these?
The sleeper issue and $64question is, why after 5 years of private ownership, hasn’t a community orientated plan for the entire Innovation Plaza been developed to create an imaginative public recreation space? Draft concept plans have been produced by the applicant for the Plaza e.g pocket park, kids’ education play, fun plaza furniture, differing weekday and weekend activities, lunchtime activities, a pavilion with public art, creation of space for outdoor cinema utilising the northern boundary for the Plaza etc.
These concept plans have not seen the light of day and little attempt has been made to engage in dialogue with the public about the future of the Plaza for public recreation purposes.
The retail expansion Application argues that the Modification 7 will “provide significant public benefits" and is in “the public interest.” This submission argues that an examination of these assertions indicates it is neither. Vague and undocumented references are made to place activation, improved social destination, the ability of patrons to comfortably enjoy the heritage listed buildings and industrial aesthetic and the transformation of the Plaza into a leisure place for those who can pay.
The unstated, underlying premise, is based on opportunities for a few private individuals to enjoy the commercialisation of retail activities on public land and the ability to pay to access these private benefits.
There is clearly an alternative to the Retail Expansion Application, one that provides significant public benefits and almost unlimited opportunities to transform public land into an imaginative multi-purpose pubic recreation place, following dialogue with the public that would benefit, all current and future generations of NSW citizens.

Sincerely
Michael Tobin

Submission Regarding Locomotive Workshop Mod 7 – Expansion of Retail Uses into Innovation Plaza

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) National Office wishes to raise a number of concerns regarding the application by Mirvac to modify the development consent applying to the reuse of the Locomotive Workshops. In particular, we are concerned about the impact of the proposed expansion of retail activities in Innovation Plaza on the site’s heritage values and on public access.

The Eveleigh Railway Workshops precinct occupies a crucial place in the industrial history of New South Wales. Innovation Plaza itself is at the heart and integral to the heritage listed 19th century buildings that remain in the precinct as it runs alongside the site’s most iconic buildings - Locomotive Workshops and the National Locomotive Centre.

The RTBU strongly supports the adaptive re-use of the site for job-creating activities, however it is essential that these activities are done in a manner that is respectful to the site’s history.

The retail expansion application seeks Departmental approval to allow the permanent use of the western portion of Innovation Plaza for retail use, dramatically increased outdoor seating areas, and to establish two built structures and two awnings. These are significant changes to the built environment, and involve a commercialisation of space that has previously been dedicated to public use. Indeed, Innovation Plaza is exclusively zoned as public land for the purpose of public recreation. The Easement provides that “any authorised User has a full, free and unimpeded right to enter the Public access areas for the purpose of public passive recreation.” We believe the application is conflicts with this purpose.
The RTBU National Office contends that the application should be rejected on the grounds it is not in the public interest.

I advise that the RTBU National Office has not made any reportable political donations in NSW in the past two years. It should be noted that the RTBU NSW Branch may have made political donations, however this submission is provided by the National entity, not the seperate State Branch.

My submission is opposed to the application by Mirvac to modify the development consent applying to the reuse of the Locomotive Workshops by extending food and beverage uses into the pubic land that constitutes Innovation Plaza. The application should be rejected.
The retail expansion application seeks Departmental approval to allow the permanent use of the western portion of Innovation Plaza for retail use, dramatically increased outdoor seating areas,( with no supporting analysis of the impact of complying with Covid restrictions for seating, circulating ,customer numbers etc.) to establish two built structures and an two awnings.
In addition the application seeks to extend the hours of operation from 6am to midnight to 6am to 1am.This variation would apply to all Locomotive Workshop retail tenants not solely to retail uses in the Plaza and is not underpinned by any evidence showing a need for change. The stated reason is flexibility but appears to be a backdoor route for a significant alteration to the conditions of consent for all retail tenants of the Locomotive Workshops. It should be rejected.
The retail expansion application includes 4 Appendices, the more important ones being Attachment B- Amended Public Domain Plan and Attachment C -Heritage Impact Statement.
This submission argues that major public policy issues are raised by this Application. Ordinarily in the development of sites an application to modify an existing development application by lodging a Modification Application would be uncontroversial as they cover very minor matters. The previous 6 modifications applying to the reuse of the Locomotive Workshops certainly fit into this category.
The retail expansion application however is dramatically different in that it seeks to commercialise the western side of Innovation Plaza which will have the effect of permanently dividing this public space into private and public spaces.
The public land that makes Innovation Plaza is the subject of many environmental planning instruments covering zoning and land use including, the Environmental and Planning Act 1979; State Environmental Planning Policy (State Significant Precincts) 2005; Redfern –Waterloo Built Environment Plan (Stage One) and covenants and easements which relate to the public rights for use and the purposes for which zoning had been determined. ( See ATP Sale Positive Covenant-Public Access and the ATP Sale-Easement for Access.) No mention is made in the retail expansion Application of the impact on the rights of the public, the citizens of NSW.
The legislation has determined that Innovation Plaza is exclusively zoned as public land for the purpose of public recreation. The Easement provides that “any authorised User has a full, free and unimpeded right to enter the Public access areas for the purpose of public passive recreation ..”
This submission argues there are a number of disquieting features about the development process and this modification application. The documentation for this application contains no quantification of the amount of seating that will be required for the food and beverage premises, no indication of the materials that will be used for the structures and their precise location. These are to be determined in a separate application which does not allow for community participation.
Previous development applications for the Australian Technology Park site, (bought by Mirvac from the NSW Government in late 2015) have focussed on the development of three commercial buildings and the repurposing of the Locomotive Workshop for retail and commercial purposes.
There has been scant attention paid to the development of the public domain and in particular Innovation Plaza, which has taken a back seat. Innovation Plaza has flown under the radar and its future has not been the subject of widespread community consultation. This is a major planning and policy failure.
An examination of the documentation underpinning the Application reveals a number of grey areas and non-inclusion of important issues.
For example, Innovation Plaza consists of 3675.8 square meters of public land and the application agues it will only excise 18% or 671.8 square metres of the footprint needed for the implementation of the retail expansion application.
It fails to take into account that a significant part of the northern Innovation Plaza has been affected by the insertion of a loading dock with truck 3 bays directly into the Locomotive Workshops through Innovation Plaza thus directly impacting on public amenity and potential recreation use.
The application does not take into account the impact on pedestrian and cycle flows through Innovation Plaza, the major transit corridor for the precinct. Nor does it refer to the Plaza as the green boulevard with its two rows of mature trees providing a haven for the local 10,000 strong workforce to socialise, network and have a lunchtime break.
The Plaza is at the heart and integral to the heritage listed 19th century buildings that remain in the 13.2 acre Australian Technology Park precinct because the two most important ones, the Locomotive Workshops and the National Locomotive Centre both adjoin the Plaza and provide the best opportunity to enjoy the industrial aesthetics of the exceptional examples of late 19th century public industrial architecture.
The retail expansion Application does not mention if heritage machinery currently located in the Plaza and whether they will be relocated or the collection added to nor does it refer to the social and labour history that was the result of 100 years of occupation by tens of thousands of industrial workers employed in a myriad of skilled occupations that manufactured, assembled and repaired locomotives for the NSW railways. These are major omissions.
A number of other questions are raised by the Application. There is reference to a circulation path adjacent to the Locomotive Workshop. How large will it will be and will it be closed to the public? A fleeting reference is made an option for events and two bar /keg structures. What are the implications of these?
The sleeper issue and $64question is, why after 5 years of private ownership, hasn’t a community orientated plan for the entire Innovation Plaza been developed to create an imaginative public recreation space? Draft concept plans have been produced by the applicant for the Plaza e.g pocket park, kids’ education play, fun plaza furniture, differing weekday and weekend activities, lunchtime activities, a pavilion with public art, creation of space for outdoor cinema utilising the northern boundary for the Plaza etc.
These concept plans have not seen the light of day and little attempt has been made to engage in dialogue with the public about the future of the Plaza for public recreation purposes.
The retail expansion Application argues that the Modification 7 will “provide significant public benefits" and is in “the public interest.” This submission argues that an examination of these assertions indicates it is neither. Vague and undocumented references are made to place activation, improved social destination, the ability of patrons to comfortably enjoy the heritage listed buildings and industrial aesthetic and the transformation of the Plaza into a leisure place for those who can pay.
The unstated, underlying premise, is based on opportunities for a few private individuals to enjoy the commercialisation of retail activities on public land and the ability to pay to access these private benefits.
There is clearly an alternative to the Retail Expansion Application, one that provides significant public benefits and almost unlimited opportunities to transform public land into an imaginative multi-purpose pubic recreation place, following dialogue with the public that would benefit, all current and future generations of NSW citizens.

Yours faithfully
Jane Brock
Chairperson
Philippine-Australia Women’s Association (PAWA)
PO Box 1168, Strawberry Hills, NSW 2012

Submission relating to DA 8517 Mod 7-Retail Expansion Eveleigh Locomotive Workshops

My submission objects strongly to the modification to the heritage plans in particular to the retail proposals. I am a librarian and Heritage Officer with Unions NSW/Sydney Trades Hall

The developer claims the area needs activation of the space, ignoring the already extensive activation ie use of the area by people going about their business and leisure. Cycling and foot traffic are a part of the attraction as it is.
This will increase with increased office and other space and the proposed alterations to the railway station.
The proposal would also increase dangers to said pedestrian traffic by forcing increased interaction of pedestrians and trucks.

To claims, as the MOD 7 does, that the outdoor area with awning and other structures would “only” impact 18% of the space is a nonsense as 18% is a substantial proportion, not an “only”. It detracts from the heritage building sightlines and the feel of the area as an historic precinct crucial to the memory of Everleigh as a workers place, where work was carried out in many different ways, and the workers lived and breathed the whole environment. The community has been a walking and cycling one. Modernisation should give great weight to such historic use as those uses continue. Domination by retail private space intruding more and more into the waling and passive outdoor areas detracts severely from that history. It has been retained and the developer has to uphold the heritage values. Such proposals as this detract directly from that goal.

I urge you to reject the changes

Yours sincerely
Neale Towart

I object to the modification application in its current form.

I comment as a concerned local resident, and as a labour historian (and President to the Sydney Branch of Labour History Australia) with knowledge of the workers’ history and built heritage of this and surrounding sites.

My reasons for objection centre on
• the need to protect the industrial history and heritage of the site, and
• the imperative to defend the local community from further encroachment by development and noise.
I support NSW Heritage concerns of 4 December 2020 that ‘introduction of all the proposed spaces collectively’ would diminish the strong industrial nature of the site. While Mirvac acknowledges those concerns, it remains critical that implementation of the modification be closely monitored. For example, expansion of the footprint through awnings must not facilitate encroachment on or diminishment of the industrial heritage.

My reservations here reference Carriageworks (Eveleigh Carriage Workshops). Culturally important and inspiring as that site now is, its industrial heritage has been blurred by the manner of its conversion to community space and venue. Public understanding of the history of the site is not reinforced.

I therefore submit that
• the permanency of retail space sought for Innovation Plaza
• the extension of outdoor seated areas and
• the built structure and awning structure envelopes within Innovation Plaza
all be monitored according to industrial heritage and local community criteria, in consultation with relevant heritage and community stakeholders.
There must not be any further expansion of retail footprint and or any further dilution of the industrial heritage imprint.

The entire site is surrounded by closely built residential streets. Increased noise and traffic generated by site development to date has already had an adverse impact on the local community. In reality, what safeguards will buffer the community from further incoming traffic and noise?

Mirvac asserts that the proposed envelopes will provide the Department, NSW Heritage, the Council of the City of Sydney, and future tenants ‘certainty’ regarding the maximum extent of buildings and structures. What input into ‘certainty’ is offered to residents? The foreshadowing of a separate development application to City of Sydney Council, regarding operation and fit-out of Innovation Plaza, appears to shift responsibility for shielding community to Council. Of course Council’s role here is a given, but timely community consultation independent of Mirvac must be guaranteed.

Thank you for the opportunity to submit these comments. I ask that they be put to the Independent Planning Commission for review and assessment.