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| Image from story: The location of Miller Point makes it incredibly appealing to developers. |
The residents of the public housing on Millers Point in Sydney know their homes are valuable. For those who have lived there for most of their lives, the value lies in the community they have built and the memories they have created.
But for the New South Wales government and property developers, the value lies in the million dollar views and unrivaled location close to the centre of Sydney.
Plans are afoot to sell 293 public housing properties in the area. The money raised will be put back into housing in other parts of New South Wales – and because of the land value in Millers Point, that could mean a significant overall increase in the amount of housing available.
With 57,000 families on the waiting list for accommodation in NSW, and for Gabrielle Upton, the Minister for Family and Community services in the Baird government, that’s surely a good thing.
“It’s housing, the sale of which can release value that will mean that we can build more and better housing for people … across the state.”
But for residents like Myra Demetriou, who has lived in the area for half her life, moving out presents enormous challenges.
“I’m getting to that point with my eyesight … I’m frightened to go anywhere. … and I can’t see where things are.”
She is worried about how she would cope in a new area
“I’m familiar with everything around here and if I moved anywhere else I’d be completely lost.”
A new resident to Millers Point, John Dunn thinks there is room for compromise that would help residents like Myra
“I think the government could be the hero here to step in and say … we can keep the small, modest houses … where they’ve lived all their lives, for 70, 80, 90 years.”
He wants to preserve the unique community that has developed around the social housing, telling the Sydney Morning Herald;
“It’s really nice to live in a mixed neighbourhood … where you have all sorts of people, rather than one sort of group from society. We do want to conserve our community; it’s really being torn in two.”
So far, nine properties have already been sold, raising enough money to build 22 new properties. And while some residents have been happy to move to new buildings that are easier and cheaper to maintain, it’s not without personal cost, as life-long resident Flo Seckold knows only too well.
“This one lady moved and she said to me it’s a lovely place I’ve got … but she said it’s not Millers Point … and once I get in and close the door I’m alone. And that’s how I’d be. And I don’t want to be like that.”
RESOURCED: http://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/the-project/top-stories-march-2015/fight-for-millers-point
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