The NSW Government says that a number of factors including market conditions and community feedback has influenced its decision to reduce the number of slated units at Riverwood from 3,900 to 414, which has recently come under fire.

The initial plan conceived by the Land and Housing Corporation in 2022 was for 1,019 current social housing dwellings at Riverwood to be replaced by 3,900 new homes. Just under a third of the dwellings were to be funded by the public sector, while private developers would be responsible for 70 percent of the build.

As opposed to remodelling the entire 30-hectare site, the Minns Government has zeroed in on a 1.6-hectare portion, where 414 new homes will be erected in place of 60 current dwellings.124 would of these will be public, 83 deemed affordable with discounted rent for essential workers, and 207 private.

A Spokesperson for Homes NSW says that an extensive consultation period with the community outlined residents’ concerns with the number of homes that was originally planned.

“It is crucial to Government that any housing estate redevelopment creates better outcomes for social housing residents, delivers more social homes and aligns with community expectations,” the Spokesperson says in an interview with Architecture & Design.

“The revised delivery strategy takes into consideration many factors, including the current market conditions affecting overall viability of committing to a large, long-term project, as well as feedback from the local community about the need for greater certainty on required local community infrastructure to match proposed housing supply.”

The government has not yet sought a development partner for the project, allaying concerns that they were unable to drum up interest. They say that the decision was made off the back of “concerns from the local community on being able to measure the impacts the former redevelopment plan would have had on community infrastructure over the next 25 years.”

“The change of strategy presents a measurable segment of new housing works in the Riverwood Estate area over the next 5-6 years, with a higher percentage of 50 percent new social and affordable housing, which is also able to better quantify the required amount of supporting community infrastructure works.”

Urban Taskforce Chief Executive was scathing of the government in a recent interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, claiming that the public housing bodies should be held to the same regulations as their private counterparts.

“If a developer sat on a site and waited for the market or project feasibility to improve, we would be gratuitously accused of land banking.”

As for what comes next, Homes NSW says it will continue to review options to roll into further stages of redevelopment work as the current short-term focus of 420 new homes is progressed. The Government says it remains committed to the longer-term transformation of the Riverwood Housing Estate.

Architecture & Design Team

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