Luis Feliu
Plans for the $25-million facelift of Kingscliff’s foreshore, including a large rock seawall to protect public land and a major upgrade of the council-run caravan park, is set to be given the nod tomorrow.
Tweed Shire Council’s bold foreshore ’revitalisation project’, costed at $21.2 million of which much of it is federal funding, is up for council approval.
Councillors will also consider the staff-recommended approval for a $3.6 million upmarket renewal of the Kingscliff Beach Holiday Park, which will be protected by the rock wall, and will be reduced in size by around half to make way for a ‘Central Park’.
The two major developments by council, which is trustee of the caravan park, come after more than 13 years of planing with the council’s adopted 2007-27 master plan for its foreshore, underpinning them.
In their report council planners say the projects would be staged over 20 years to minimise disruption to the town’s popular tourist and retail strip nearby.
It would uprade park land and holiday parks as well as preserve the beach and foreshore.
Another project under the master plan includes the Marine Parade one-way street change of 2012-13, which received mixed response when completed, with critics saying the conversion from two-way traffic did not help congestion.
The caravan sites are to be cut from 176 to 61 and its overall area from 3.31 hectares to 1.99 hectares.
The proposal includes the removal of all movable dwellings and structures from as well as demolition of the existing site office, amenities blocks, concrete slabs and road pavement material.
A new access is to be provided to the site as part of the redevelopment.
The concrete seawall and rock revetment seawall will be built between the Cudgen Headland Surf Life Saving Club (CHSLSC) and the Kingscliff Beach Bowls Club (KBBC).
Part of the caravan park site will be turned into public foreshore park and a combined pedestrian/cycleway will be built between the surf and bowls clubs.
Planners say the staged works under the strategy over the next four years includes rebuild the existing rock wall between the surf and bowls clubs reusing existing rock, in two stages, with community amenities such as viewing platforms in the later stage.
In a brief history, they say the township was hit by a series of storm surges and erosion between 2011 and 2013 which resulted in the loss of large tracts of foreshore area.
The loss of infrastructure and assets behind the foreshore prompted Tweed Shire Council to undertake emergency revetment (sandbag and rock) works between the northern training wall of Cudgen Creek and the bowls club.
What a shame that it seems council is going to approve “the staff-recommended $3.6 million upmarket renewal” of Kingcliff Caravan Park.
Kingscliff’s low-key atmosphere, which locals love and attracts visitors, will be further diminished.
Many families will be no longer be able to enjoy the traditional Aussie (downmarket !) beach holiday.
(When I suggested. to one of Council’s PR staff at the council display shop in Marine Parade, that it was a silly idea to almost halve the capacity of the Caravan Park, he reacted as though I had something smelly on my shoes.)
I agree with the concrete seawall etc, even the reduction in size of the caravan park resulting in more park area for everyone to share and better access to the beach. But what is the point of redeveloping Kingscliff when you can not get a car park most days of the week. So much for the locals!
Helen, If you take a good look, there is already a pretty darn good rock wall there at the caravan park which extends all the way along the front. The Surf Club is in need of more protection though. We support that. We have been in the Caravan park for years.
Our family has bought brand new cars from Toyota Surf at Tweed City and we also purchased property in Kingscliff. Other friends of ours have also invested in local realestate while still maintaining permanent sites in the van park. We just love the atmosphere. We are ratepayers and we put fistsful of dollars into the community which is untolled. The community is going to be in for a wake up call when all the Queenslanders and annual Victorians bugger off to another holiday destination because of the short-sighted Tweed Shire Councillors.
As for the “Rate-Payers Association” …what a mob of rat-bags! They can go and take a long walk off a short plank because their views are those which are representative of not the majority, but rather the few who are protecting an oceanview !
Good luck to all the Marine Parade businesses that supported this project – many of you wont be here to enjoy the new rock wall!
Halving the caravan park income and 2 years of construction activity……… I hope you have saved all the profits generated by the loyal customers who now will be moving out of the area…..
Well said Mike!!
Kingscliff character to be lost forever, not all change is for the better, just trying to make Kingscliff into another suburb of the Gold Coast or another Noosa very sad. I hope all the businesses survive the redevelopment time frame, because the loss of income from reducing the caravan park from 176 to 61 will impact hugely on all of them.
What are the environmental impacts of a rock wall being built across this beautiful beach front and what a huge waste of public money, surely this money could be spent much more wisely on other projects of more importance in the area, sure the caravan park needs an upgrade but not to that extent and more parkland in Kingscliff what a joke, this parkland will bring more congestion to Marine Parade, you think parking is bad now, wait until families are trying to park there to go to the beach and have a picnic in the area, no room for parking to go to the shops.
I do hope I am wrong, it looks like we will have to wait and see.
Exactly!!!
See ya later Kingscliff. We’ll be spending our holiday $$$$ elsewhere from now on….
Move the whole caravan park to the north side of the bowls club there is heaps of land perfect for that there, use the current caravan park spot to make the road two ways again and put in more parking.
My thoughts exactly. Apparently that would not go down well with unit owners across the street… I’m sure the bowls club will be the next thing to go!
There is no way councillors who have investments in Kingscliff along the front on Marine Parade and elsewhere in town, are going to allow scummy caravan park in front of THEIR million dollar views. Come on now… we are talking about councillors who are looking after their own interests here. Let’s be honest.
The facts are the caravan park is going from 170 odd sites down to 35 caravan and 9 tent sites the rest of the foreshore will have 17 ugly cabins. Do your maths, of course the economy is going to suffer! I also don’t think a massive Seawall is going to beautify the area! Especially when there is going to be periods of lengthy times that there will be no sand in front of it (that is from the coastal management team!) I don’t think this will be as glowing as council is trying to make out!
Loss of potential revenue from the reduced van park – cost of constructing a very elaborate public park – the cost of maintaining this park – the loss of business parking to public park users accessing the beach and having a picnic – this is the action of a council drunk on the windfall of seven straight years of rate-rises above the rate-pegging limit.
Building an ugly snake and rat infected rock wall removing 170 caravan sites just to create more parkland on the foreshore will only destroy a beautiful holiday spot for hundreds of people and shut down most of the local retail when all that is needed is a sand pumping devise in Cudgen Creek to pump sand onto the beach and the beach will build up in no time just look at Greenmount beach you need a cut lunch to get to the water after the sand pumping jetty was built on the Tweed and that didn’t cost million dollars
Yes goodbye Kingy from our entire family too! We will have to find another park to stay on as there will be no sites available at Kingscliff!! Already people have to book 2 years in advance so there will be absolutely no chance of getting in nor would we want to! Been holidaying here for the past 33 years and would be very sad to see the beautiful park we love and know demolished to make way for the piddly little, artificial looking, so called “holiday park”! No thanks ?
Au revoir parting is such sweet sorrow. the council has made there decision locals will have to live with that. Kingscliff is in for more rate hikes someone has to pay for it.
What an utter waste of tax payers dollars!
Why ruin a good thing that so many Ausies and travelers world wide enjoy so much?? Don’t get it. It’s just another little piece of Australia’s once proud heritage, history and lifestyle gone forever. This council has much to answer for!! Unnecessary change to suit developers! Looks like Kingy will become the new Southport. Such a shame our councils don’t appreciate our gorgeous seaside towns the way they do in in Europe or the States. Keep beach camping and outdoor living alive for future generations!!!
Paid parking is next on the agenda
An interesting point from the above article that again shows the football posts keep moving in reference to time frame of Construction. In early discussions with council it was twelve months of upheaval for local business then 18months now in this article they say construction will BE FOUR YEARS, Tourism is completely based on interesting and consistent product 208 weekends of Dust and Trucks will create a habit of driving to Byron/ Bangalow/ Brunswick heads or other gorgeous locations in NSW but not Kingscliff, Therefore for the locals – those great jobs that keep teenagers busy or give mum and dad a extra job to help pay the bills will be gone!
Council should be supporting business, the area definitely needs changes and upgrades but there needs to be a collaboration between Business and Council to achieve a good fiscal outcome for all.
The plans as said were created over fifteen years ago Kingy has changed yet at the same time kept its personality. The upgrades need to honour this not create a clone of Gold Coast and other plastic venues.
Rethink the plans you only have one chance of getting this right, there are toooo many other options available to taking people’s dollars!!
I totally agree with the possible problems caused by a rock wall – they inevitably create erosion
at their base, and will export erosion problems North with the northerly sweep. However I think the central park is a great idea, the existing caravan park cuts Marine Parade off from the beach. It will become something similar to the park across the road in front of Byron’s Beach Hotel -used by many to relax before another onslaught of shopping, eating and drinking!
As a tourist who absolutely loves Kingscliffe, the topic of congestion along the business strip could surely have been improved by having the exit at one end of the holiday park and the entry at the other. This would prevent us caravan owners from having to drive our vans along that strip, keeping the central area clearer for other road users or even additional parking spots.
Whatever the Council does, I hope it listens to the local community and puts them first. Us tourists have loved the place so far because of its local and low key presence and I’m sure we will continue to do so. Just please keep some room for us!
It’s the charm of a beautiful, down-to-earth village with amazing views that brings us tourists to Kingscliffe. It’s the friendly welcome of the locals that keep us coming back for more. From the shop owners to the local characters at the bowls club and surf club, to the Kingy Hotel, this is a place oozing with good old fashioned hospitality. How on earth will the local businesses get by with so much disruption and a heavy reduction in the tourist trade. I sincerely hope the Council listens to its residents and puts the interests of them all at the top of any decision making. Make your improvements but remember who butters your bread.