BY JESSICA ROUSE

Not everyone is happy about the state government’s announcement yesterday for thirty affordable housing units to be built in part of the former Newcastle rail corridor.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald has hit back at critics today, who have been arguing the affordable housing
will be both taking up too much space and accommodate the wrong people.

“We said right from the very beginning  that the corridor would be a mix
of private and public space and I think that is exactly what is playing
out now. We will have roughly 75% for what we call public use, and that
will be a range of activities such as the university, now this
affordable housing and then quite a lot of green space,” said Scot
MacDonald.

The housing will reportedly only take up 3-4 per cent of the space on the corridor between Mereweather Street and the former Civic Station adjacent to the Newcastle Museum.

“I think the secret of success for somewhere like Newcastle isn’t just having units, not just retail and not just (obviously) green space, but the mix of things. It’s no longer a big country town, it is the seventh largest city in Australia and I think this development that you’re seeing on the old corridor very much puts it on that pathway.”
Artist impression of Market Street lawn.

Image Newcastle Herald

One argument against the housing is that it will attract the wrong people and not benefit the right people.

Scot MacDonald says community housing providers will be asked to submit expressions of
interest with preferred housing models for the site and the project will
be supported by government and council.

The city is well on its way to being a global hot spot, and the Parliamentary Secretary believes these developments in the city centre are only going to elevate the city into the future.

“I don’t think anybody, except for probably Tim Crackantorp would like it to go back now – I mean there are people that want to go back to sitting at a rail crossing in their car for five minutes or so, and want that ugly, ugly corridor that was there to stay” but it’s quickly being reinvented.