By Duncan Leys

The Glebe Society acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the traditional owners of this land and pays our respects to their Elders both past and present.

I am stepping down today after my two years as President as our constitution says I must.

I do not propose to summarise the events of the year as July, August and September 2025 Bulletins contain the reports of the Bays and Foreshores subcommittee (July 2025), the Blue Wren subcommittee (August 2025), the Heritage subcommittee (August 2025), and the Transport convenor (September 2025). 

All these reports are worth reading in full and a few minutes from me would not cover their content adequately. The Communications convenor will report in the October 2025 Bulletin.

Instead, I would like to spend my time covering the issues that are threats to Glebe and Forest Lodge’s heritage, environment and community.

Stage 2 of the Low and Mid-rise Housing draft SEPP Proposal and the NSW Housing Delivery Authority

Members would be aware that Stage 2 of the Low and Mid-rise Housing draft SEPP State Environment Planning Policy (Housing) proposal will include reforms to allow apartment buildings of up to six stories within 400 metres of railway stations, light rail stations and local centres and up to four stories between 400 and 800 metres of those areas.

In February 2024 the City of Sydney (CoS) responded to the state government’s proposals with a submission which would meet its housing targets while maintaining the City’s planning controls. I am unaware if the state government has responded to the Council’s submission. The most recent advice I have received is that a response is still outstanding.

Since our last annual general meeting a new body, the NSW Housing Delivery Authority, has been set up by the state government to fast-track approvals for apartment developments, avoiding the local council planning system and allowing developers to apply for the State Significant Development (SSD) status thereby getting approvals for bigger developments than would have otherwise been granted.

A perverse outcome is that CoS is currently finding that projects that have been progressing through the normal DA process are being pulled by developers to apply for State Significant Development status (SSD) – not to speed up the process, but because developers are trying to increase the size of their developments. Ironically this process is slowing down the very delivery of housing it was intended to speed up, as developers chase more units in their development and reduced responsibilities for local infrastructure and affordable housing levies are applied.

The state government often points to the time Councils are taking to approve DAs. However, it was stated at a CoS-convened meeting with resident organisations that the CoS has 700 DAs approved and ready to go but only a third of them are active. So, two thirds are going nowhere. Bidura would appear to be one of the projects that have gone nowhere for at least 2 years although it may now be regarded as active because restoration of the heritage listed house has started although the development of the new housing component has stalled.

One of the major problems with the NSW Government’s State Significant Development pathway has always been that it looks at a site in isolation, with little consideration of the sites around it or the Council’s own strategic plans for the area and for growth.

New Sydney Fish Markets

The New Sydney Fish Markets are now slated for opening in November 2025 and as yet no traffic management plan has been released by Transport for NSW.  Where buses and trucks can wait to deliver and pick up freight and passengers is not known.

Future of Wentworth Park including the greyhound track and grandstand

The lease expires in 2027 and while all local community groups support the end to greyhound racing at this site, there are various views about the future use of the site. The Society will advise members of proposed community action campaigns in the upcoming months.

The Glebe Island Bridge

When the New Sydney Fish Market ferry service starts, a bigger ferry will be put on the run to and from Glebe, the Fish Market and Barangaroo. The bigger ferry will not fit under the Glebe Island Bridge and so the bridge will have to remain in an open position as the service is expected to run every 20 minutes.

There is a push to use the Glebe Island Bridge as an active transport route for cyclists and walkers into the city but it would seem this will be impossible if the bridge is to remain open at all times.

There could be other options.

Retention and maintenance of publicly owned housing stock.

The current state government is making a significant effort to bring its stock of social housing up to a proper standard and, although progress is being made, the extent of the backlog is vast, and progress is therefore slower than the residents deserve. Government plans for further sell-offs remain unknown.

Maintaining heritage in Glebe

There are several issues that the Society continues to be on the alert for including the design quality for proposed rear-lane extensions – a growing trend – and the significance of streetscape in restoration/amendments to existing properties.

The Society believes that engaging and empowering broader community interest in the significance of Glebe’s rich architectural heritage will assist in monitoring this.

Bulletin and website

Currently Sarah Fogg is acting as the Bulletin Editor until the end of the year. We need to find a new editor quickly.

Sarah has actively taken steps to improve the functioning of our website and to review the Bulletin production process so a new editor will find the job somewhat easier than did our previous editors.

Sarah has designed the survey which has gone out to members to find out their views on the Bulletin.

Members are reminded that their response to the survey about the content and the format of the Bulletin is due by 26 September 2025. Your feedback will greatly assist a new Bulletin editor (when we get one) and the management committee to better engage with our members and hopefully entice some to volunteer.

Glebe’s Hill

Eight months after the receipt of the Sydney University’s report which proposed The Hill be rehabilitated from a neglected and unloved space to a sanctuary for wildlife, we found that no progress had been made because the site was the subject of a native title claim. The City of Sydney would not spend money on rehabilitating the site while the claim was unresolved. The Local Land Council did not have the funds to pursue the claim, so the proposal was stopped.

Recently, we found consultants reports from 2010 in the City of Sydney archives which said that the site was a contamination hot spot and it needed to be fenced to keep the public out, and any workers on the site needed to observe strict protocols to ensure their safety. The reports also said the site needed to be rehabilitated and returned to public space. The site could not be left as it was at the time the reports were made as it was unsafe.

It is unclear if anything was done about these reports, perhaps other than the fencing, and the fencing has often been breached by members of the public.

We feel this situation may open up the possibility of persuading the City of Sydney to comply with their consultant’s recommendations to rehabilitate the site and turn it into a wildlife sanctuary. Transforming the site into a wildlife sanctuary would seem to be the least costly option.

The current situation with the Hill is more fully described in the September 2025 issue of the Bulletin.

Volunteers

Recruiting new volunteers to run the Society, join committees and working groups so that the load does not fall on too few, remains a challenge.

We have struggled since before my time to find new people to work on the subcommittees. Some subcommittees have ceased to function as a convenor could not be found.

During the year Glebe suffered an enormous loss with the unexpected death of our beloved colleague Ian Stephenson. Much has been written about Ian’s contribution to the work of the Glebe Society and I will say we are still struggling to make up what we have lost.

Thank you

I want to say thank you to those standing down from roles on the management committee:

  • Virginia Simpson-Young, long-time Bulletin editor
  • Janet Oakley, Convenor Transport and Traffic
  • Glenn Powell, Ordinary Member of the management committee

Thank you to the many volunteers who run our events, walks and talks, write articles and edit the material that goes into the Bulletin, maintain our website and ensure we fulfill our statutory obligations.

It has been a great pleasure for me working with you all.