News & Discussion: Adelaide City Council

[david]

Back to the Anonymous Bridge

Yes there is to be a formal opening on Thursday (18th) at 12 noon
Lord Mayor and the various Ministers etc in attendance.
Entrance is via Plane Tree Drive with parking on Botanic Drive I presume but there is
easy access on foot or bicycle and there are bus services on Frome Rd and Hackney Road!

Incidentally, forget about the names and enjoy the good engineering design and the fact that we are on Kaurna Land which, incidentally, would be my guidance for choosing a name.

David

[Shuz]

I like the Panda Pass.

[Nathan]

I just went for a ride along the Torrens Linear Park, and saw the bridge. It looks very nice, and it's much wider than any other bridge across, so no fights between cyclists and pedestrians about who's taking up the whole path. Props to the council.

Any word on when the path on the south side of the Torrens, along side the zoo, is going to be re-opened?

[JamesXander]

Ofcourse it will be named after an aborignal word

Forget real action like helping out the local homeless aboriginals, lets name a bridge, or a square, or a park or a building after a local Karuana word. Because its cool and trendy and tourists like it. Lets also not forget it gives that nice warm fuzzy feeling to the people in places of power.

[skyliner]

Ofcourse it will be named after an aborignal word

Forget real action like helping out the local homeless aboriginals, lets name a bridge, or a square, or a park or a building after a local Karuana word. Because its cool and trendy and tourists like it. Lets also not forget it gives that nice warm fuzzy feeling to the people in places of power.

I somehow get the same feeling. This is a widespread practice in the east. Eg the 'T' word for VSQ - where from and why did that arise?

ADELAIDE - TOWARDS A GREATER CITY SKYLINE

[Will]

Ofcourse it will be named after an aborignal word

Forget real action like helping out the local homeless aboriginals, lets name a bridge, or a square, or a park or a building after a local Karuana word. Because its cool and trendy and tourists like it. Lets also not forget it gives that nice warm fuzzy feeling to the people in places of power.

I completely agree. I was having a look at some of the proposed names for the bridge, and I would feel that it would be much better to name it after someone who has actually devoted their life to improving the botanic garden or the zoo. I personally have no objection to giving Kaurna names to things that existed prior to colonisation such as the Torrens or Mt. Lofty, but I cannot understand why we need to name non-aborigianl things, and things which have nothing to do with Aborigines in Kaurna.

[Prince George]

Councillors, I notice that the Whitmore Square "affordable eco-housing" development (a project of the ACC, right?) is selling now on LJ Hooker at prices in excess of $400k per apartment. Did this project silently drop the affordability requirement at some point, or are these prices considered suitable for the low-income market?

[Will]

Councillors, I notice that the Whitmore Square "affordable eco-housing" development (a project of the ACC, right?) is selling now on LJ Hooker at prices in excess of $400k per apartment. Did this project silently drop the affordability requirement at some point, or are these prices considered suitable for the low-income market?

Good question.

To think that $400 000 is affordable is ridiculous.

I

[AtD]

Are they all "affordable," or are just a number of them?

What do we mean by "affordable" anyway? Does affordable mean subsidised?

[Prince George]

Are they all "affordable," or are just a number of them?

What do we mean by "affordable" anyway? Does affordable mean subsidised?

I was under the impression that the project was built by the ACC, rather than subsidised apartments. I believe the "Sydney Place Apartments" are similar. Some details at http://www.cityofadelaide.com.au/accomm ... oject.html

City Affordable Housing Projects
What is Affordable Housing?
Affordable Housing is defined by the Adelaide City Council as housing that is provided to eligible lower income households at 75 per cent of market rent, with the goal that such households do not pay more than 30 per cent of their gross income in rent.

Why is Adelaide City Council interested in Affordable Housing ?
The Adelaide City Council’s interest in providing affordable housing is directly related to its vision statement:

The City of Adelaide, as the Capital City of South Australia, will be a vibrant and populous central place for work, study, leisure and living, invigorating the cultural, commercial, educational and community life of the State.

In order to realise this vision, the Adelaide City Council has developed a number of strategies and plans, including the Residential Growth Plan.

Who qualifies for Affordable Housing?
The Residential Growth Plan of the City of Adelaide has a goal that by 2010:

The City of Adelaide (CBD) will have an overnight population of 34,000 people including at least 26,000 permanent residents

The Residential Growth Plan aims to offer affordable housing to people who otherwise may not be able to afford market rents in the City, including:

• People with low and medium-low incomes
• Artists and other creative people
• New migrants and other people from non-English speaking backgrounds
• Older people
• People with disabilities
• People under the age of 30 who work in the City

...

Whitmore Square Eco Housing
What is the Whitmore Square Eco Housing Project?
This affordable housing project was the subject of a national design competition held in late 2004. The competition was initiated by the Adelaide City Council with the support of the State Government and the Royal Australian Institute of Architects as part of the Year of the Built Environment.

The jury was chaired by Mr Gregory Burgess, winner of the 2004 RAIA Gold Medal, who stated that:

The competition represented a significant design challenge; the most fundamental being that of achieving housing affordability and a high level of environmental performance at the same time.

A total of 45 high quality entries were received from architects around Australia. SA based firm, Troppo Architects won first prize, with second prize going to a Victorian firm, and joint third prizes to WA and NSW firms.

During design development, the challenges of affordability and environmental performance continued. The project aimed to provide housing that is both affordable to rent and affordable to live in by reducing energy and transport costs for the tenants.

What principles were considered in the development of the project?
Ecologically Sustainable Design principles of the project include:

• Providing northern orientation to a maximum number of apartments
• Providing opportunities for cross ventilation
• Use of Greywater to irrigate the adjacent public square
• Provision of solar cells for electricity generation
• Solar hot water heating using rainwater, supplemented by mains water
• Provision of natural gas for heating and cooking
• Use of rainwater tanks to irrigate common landscaped areas
• Provision of some secure bicycle storage areas

[AtD]

So affordable means subsidised in this case.

[Prince George]

Maybe we're using the word in two different senses, but I take "subsidised" to be programs like Rent Assistance that pays towards market-price rent, whereas this project (as I understood it) was developed with a criteria of lowering cost and would be owned by the ACC who would then offer the places at below market rates. While the two ideas may lead to similar prices being paid by the people in the program, I would expect the first puts more upward pressure on rental prices by driving demand (much like the first homeowner grant did for purchasing homes).

[AtD]

I mean any case where the public sector gives money to someone. These units are subsidised in the manner that below market rents are charged. The lost rent (the opportunity cost) is the subsidy.

When I asked, I was thinking "affordable" meaning cheap and nasty v. "affordable" meaning at the expense of taxpayers/ratepayers.

[Clr Yarwood]

Hi guys,

Meeting in a sec so have not had a chance to read all the comments but in the city $400k is relatively affordable; especially when you factor in the ongoing cost being low due to good design as outlined below.

People that qualify to purchase these will also get other financial support I believe…Fed and State programs. I need to look into this as you are ot the only ones to ask.

[Will]

Hi guys,

Meeting in a sec so have not had a chance to read all the comments but in the city $400k is relatively affordable; especially when you factor in the ongoing cost being low due to good design as outlined below.

People that qualify to purchase these will also get other financial support I believe…Fed and State programs. I need to look into this as you are ot the only ones to ask.

Councillor, with respect I have to say that if the ACC thinks that an apartment worth $400 000 is affordable, it is seriously out of touch.

As someone who would one day want to live in the city, I frequently go on real-estate.com to see property prices for apartments in the city.

Indeed, there are apartments which are not marketed as affordable, which are cheaper than $400 000.

Furthermore, I assume a low-income earner is someone earning less than $45 000 p.a. Someone on such a salry will not be able to afford a $400 000 property.

I urge the ACC to review what they clasify as 'affordable', and I suggest that the ACC looks at the state government's definition of what affordable property is:

The Affordable Homes program is a Housing SA initiative to increase the supply of low cost homes.

If you are eligible and able to arrange home financing, you can purchase an Affordable Home at a fixed price, in advance of it being offered to other non-eligible purchasers.

All homes are fixed price and most are for sale for less than $250,000.