The NSW Labor government is redeveloping a huge public housing site in inner-city Sydney to deal with the growing number of people sleeping rough, with the local government area recording a 23 per cent increase in the numbers of people sleeping in cars or on the streets.
Residents of the public housing apartments at 82 Wentworth Park Road in Glebe will be temporarily moved out while it is demolished and rebuilt from 17 units into 43 one and two bedroom apartments.
NSW Labor's Minister for Housing and Homelessness Rose Jackson said on Saturday the government needs to work quickly to address the dire state of social housing in inner Sydney.
"We want to rebuild our housing system to prioritise the people of NSW.
The restoration of these properties in Glebe reflects our unwavering commitment to providing quality homes for vulnerable people right across Sydney, including in our inner city."
Ms Jackson said the redevelopment at Glebe will be 100 per cent public housing, and overseen by a new entity dubbed Homes NSW.
"We know that there is more to be done, and every opportunity we have to deliver more homes for the growing housing wait list, we will take it," she said.
Another site, the Franklyn Street Estate, also in Glebe, will not be redeveloped as was previously planned, but another 35 vacant properties in the area have been purchased by the government and earmarked for social housing.
The former coalition government sold off almost 5000 public houses, prompting the incoming government to freeze public housing sales.
The announcement of the Glebe social housing boost was welcomed by those working on the frontlines of the housing crisis, with Homelessness NSW CEO Trina Jones saying the situation has never been worse.
"Right now the waiting list for social housing is more than 10 years.
"For the growing number of people sleeping in cars and tents, and women living with violent partners, that is an impossibly long time," she said.
Ms Jones said the government needs to commit 10 per cent of housing in the state to social housing over the long term.
She is agitating for even more investment into public housing, with another 80 years needed to meet the waiting list based on current build times.
The head of Shelter NSW said the decision couldn't come soon enough.
John Engeler said retaining the Franklyn Estate and involving residents in the redesign of the Wentworth Park Road showed 'a new level of co-design and meaningful engagement.'
"The new homes can be built quickly and made available to previous tenants as well as many more new ones."
