Update: 23 December, 2024
The dispute over the Selwyn Street boarding houses remains unresolved. On December 19, the developer seeking to convert the properties into four luxury villas issued a new eviction notice to the 28 low-income tenants currently living there, despite a State Government offer to purchase the houses to preserve the tenancies.
The developer, LFD Developments, has declined to sell or abandon the redevelopment plans. Tenants have been ordered to vacate by February 1, while community efforts to support the residents continue.
Read more on the ABC News website.
Update: 16 December, 2024
We have received an update from our friends at Selwyn Street with positive news.
On Friday, December 13, the residents of the Boarding Houses and members of our wider community were delighted to welcome Federal Member of Parliament, Allegra Spender, and State Member of Parliament, Alex Greenwich, to the Boarding Houses. Allegra and Alex met with the men to hear first-hand about the situation and the impact the impending closure of the Houses is having on them.
Allegra shared the details of the work she has been doing at the Federal level, including working with the Federal Housing Minister Clare O’Neil on the issue of the loss of affordable housing.
Alex shared a copy of a letter from the NSW Housing Minister, Rose Jackson, to the Mayor Clover Moore, confirming the State’s intention to co-invest with the City of Sydney if and when the developer is prepared to sell. Read Barry Skinner’s response.
Alex’s intervention has been critical to getting the campaign to this point, and Allegra’s advocacy at the national level is powerful. Our Mayor’s decision to co-fund the purchase, advocated for by Councillors Sylvie Ellsmore, Matthew Thompson, Yvonne Weldon, Zann Maxwell and Mitch Wilson, is an example of our Council’s strong determination to save the Selwyn Street boarding houses and to set a strong precedent to drive immediate change to State housing policy to protect our City’s most vulnerable.
In truth, the closure and the search for alternative homes, if needed, remain extremely stressful and challenging for the men. Our neighbours do not want to leave. Our community does not want our neighbours to leave. There are precious little safe and secure alternative homes available in this city. That’s the truth of it.
A simple solution remains on the table. The developer needs to reflect on the weight of public and government sentiment and sell. It’s simple. The developer has made a bad investment decision. it’s time to sell and leave.
The community’s fight for our neighbours will not end until that happens.
For more information save_our_neighbours
Original Post: 30 July, 2024
Boarding houses in Paddington are under threat of being demolished and converted into two luxury homes and stacked car parks. Paddington residents have been campaigning to protect the thirty residents at risk of eviction.
The City of Sydney has an estimated 294 registered boarding houses, totalling an estimated 4,031 rooms. Since 2013, 14 boarding houses have been approved to be converted to other types of houses.
Greens councillor Sylvie Ellsmore, who put forward a motion of support for boarding houses in the last City of Sydney meeting, spoke to City Hub about the implications.
“It is important to note that we have lost hundreds of boarding houses over the last ten years where there has been no development application at all,” she said. “There are massive holes in the planning system that allow this to happen.”
In 2023, the City of Sydney Council refused two applications to convert the boarding houses at 58-60 and 62-64 Selwyn Street Paddington. The Land and Environment Court is currently reviewing an appeal to this decision.
Read the full article in CityHub.
Councillor Sylvie Ellsmore ABC Breakfast Interview
Hear what Sylvie said about the Selwyn St Boarding Houses at the City of Sydney Council meeting.
Go forward to 1 hour and 43 minutes to hear her comments.
Community Get-Together – Sunday August 4th
Neighbours are invited to come together to help paint banners and to show their support for the residents of the Selwyn St Boarding Houses. Drop by and lend a hand. All ages welcome. No painting skills needed. All materials provided.
Our community should protect our most vulnerable. Everyone deserves a safe and secure place to call home.
WHEN: Sunday August 4 between 1-3PM
WHERE: Josephson St road closure next to the Captain Cook Hotel & opposite the Boarding Houses
WHAT: BYO a chair & some snacks!
