All the battlers living in a row of four rundown boarding houses in Sydney’s Paddington have been told they’re to be kicked out – despite a massive neighbourhood fight to stop their 32 homes being turned into four luxury houses. The owner-developer, who’s currently in the Land and Environment Court (LEC) appealing a ban on the conversion by the City of Sydney, irrespective of the court outcome, intends closing the boarding houses by the end of the year. Paddington residents rallied behind their neighbours in the boarding houses.
Credit: James Brickwood In heartbreaking scenes at a meeting on the street outside their home, the 29 male residents – one of whom has been living there for 55 years – were told by their neighbours, who’d found it in the appendix to the social impact assessment lodged by LFD Developments as part of its appeal, that they’re to be evicted from their homes. Some of the men were in tears of heartbreak and frustration at the sudden news. Residents pay between $150 and $200 a week.
“It was a terrible shock,” said one of the residents, 77-year-old Barry Skinner. “There have been quite a few tears as there’s also so much uncertainty weighing heavily on everyone. We have health workers standing by because we’re having to deal with the possibility of suicides; the mood is bleak and people can’t see any future.
Loading “There’s one man here with the beginnings of dementia but because we’re a community, and see each other as fami.