Image: The former Rachel Forster Hospital will experience ‘demolition by neglect’, according to City of Sydney Councillor Irene Doutney in light of a recent community meeting.
The former Rachel Forster Hospital will experience ‘demolition by neglect’, according to City of Sydney Councillor Irene Doutney in light of a recent community meeting.
The meeting was to take place inside the dilapidated hospital but after the developers arrived late, residents refused to continue due to the dangers present on site and demanded another meeting in a safer setting.
“It’s the most unprofessional thing I’ve ever seen,” Cr Doutney said, describing the scene as a horror house covered in graffiti with rubbish and smashed glass everywhere.
Four years ago, the Redfern Waterloo Authority (RWA) sold the site to Kaymet Corporation Pty Ltd, to fund the development of a $10 million community health centre. The RWA was established by the Labor state government in 2004 and was concerned with selling public land to private investors in order to continue the area’s urban renewal. The site’s proposed residential development of 159 dwellings and an inclusion of a public park is expected to generate $70 million worth of investment in the area.
At the time of the sale, Planning Minister and Minister for Redfern Waterloo Frank Sartor said: “The redevelopment of the Rachel Forster Hospital site will generate significant social, economic and environmental benefits for the Redfern-Waterloo area.” Four years later neither benefits nor opportunities of investment have come to fruition.
An architect from the meeting told Cr Doutney that Kaymet is a well-respected firm of developers but apart from this, not much else is known about the company and they have proven difficult to reach for comment on this story. The only explanation given as to why construction has not begun was the large size of the site.
However, problems in the development application seem to be a more likely explanation. An environmental assessment was found to be inadequate in 2010. According to a spokesperson from the department of Planning and Infrastructure, an adequate environmental assessment for the public exhibition is still yet to be received from the developers. A redevelopment concept plan approval was issued for the site in 2007 allowing residential land use on the site, including adaptive reuse of the former hospital and outlining other relevant planning features.
Being a heritage listed site, important features such as the existing surgery building and colonnade structure, are retained under the concept plan and must be incorporated into any new development. Cr Doutney believes the site is an incredible piece of local history.
Well before the Rachel Forster Hospital moved to the Pitt St site in 1941, the land was home to Dr William Redfern, after whom the suburb is named. The hospital advanced the careers of many early women doctors, one of whom was Miss Ruby Board who founded the Diabetic Association. In the 1950s, a breast research unit was established at the hospital, the first of its kind in NSW. The hospital
was renowned for its specialty in orthopedic and arthritic surgeries with low infection rates. The Rachel Forster Hospital boasted a range of facilities, including a hydrotherapy pool.
The hospital ceased operations in 2003 and staff and facilities were transferred to Prince Alfred Hospital in Camperdown.
The rescheduled community meeting on June 16 at Redfern Town Hall, is hoped to answer residents’ questions and concerns about the fate of the former Rachel Forster Hospital.
By Katie Davern
