- The Guardian
- Issue #2043
Franklyn Report launched from the Treasury Room at Sydney Town Hall on 22nd February - a view of the audience. Photo: Denis Doherty
“My complex at Franklyn Street in Glebe is 35 years old and needs refurbishing. The present NSW government wants to demolish it and replace our present low rise with a 14-storey complex.
“We are fighting to save our homes,” public housing tenant Emily Vallentine said at the launch in Sydney Town Hall of The Franklyn Report.
The Report, written by Hands off Glebe with the assistance of The Glebe Society, argues the case for renovation instead of demolition and privatisation of public housing at Franklyn Street, Glebe.
Sydney Deputy Lord Mayor, Councillor Sylvie Ellsmore launched The Franklyn Report, supported by Emily Vallentine, ALP NSW Shadow Housing Minister Rose Jackson and writer, architecture critic and former City of Sydney Councillor Dr Elizabeth Farrelly.
They were followed by local public housing tenants who spoke movingly about their homes and communities and their fears of eviction and forced relocation.
“As The Franklyn Report says,” Vallentine stated, “redesigning and retrofitting will save money, be more environmentally friendly, will protect the much-loved trees and gardens, and retain community rather than split and disseminate it.”