Waterloo Green Neighbourhood Project: mid-term evaluation: summary report

Publicly launched in early 2010, the Waterloo Green Neighbourhood Project is a Housing New South Wales initiative to improve the quality of life for residents of the Waterloo Green estate in central Sydney. The WGNP is termed a ‘pilot project’ to run for three years before a decision on its possible continuation. This report is a mid-term evaluation of the project; that is, it contains an appraisal focusing on project implementation and initial outcomes. Also incorporated is a cost-effectiveness assessment framework which will form the basis for the second stage of the overall evaluation, expected to be commissioned in 2012/13. The Waterloo Green high rise blocks are part of a large concentration of public housing in the wider Redfern/Waterloo area. The project is focused on the six HNSW tower blocks (Banks, Cook, Marton, Matavai, Solander, and Turanga) which form part of the estate. These contain 1,266 flats, predominantly occupied by single people. The City Futures Research Centre was commissioned in 2011 to conduct a mid-term evaluation of the project. The evaluation was primarily based on tenant focus groups and in-depth interviews with Housing NSW staff and a range of key stakeholders.