By Gary Bagnall*
Tweed shire councillors have voted not to join a legal case by the state government on its refusal of a service station and food outlet on protected farmland on Tweed Coast Road near the Casuarina turnoff.
Instead they will send a letter to the state government offering support in the case and a much stronger submission opposing the development.
On Tuesday at an extraordinary meeting called by Tweed mayor Katie Milne, councilors debated her proposal for council to seek advice on joining the legal battle in the NSW Land and Environment Court next week.
Residents fear the proposed development will impact on surrounding wetlands and Cudgen Nature Reserve as well as creating traffic problems.
Kings Forest developer (the Leda group) is seeking to change its approval for a landscaping business on the site to a service station and food outlets.
The service station and food outlets have been a hot topic with many Tweed coast residents and farmers for a couple of years.
The state government had previously seen the landscaping development in keeping with the surrounding values some years back and had approved it.
When the state government’s planning office received the developer’s application to change from the landscaping business to a service station and food outlets, the state called for public submissions and also advice from government agencies.
In Tweed Shire Council’s then submission, Crs Warren Polglase, Barry Longland, Phil Youngblutt and Carolyn Byrne backed council staff’scommendations to not object to the modification before the state department.
They were not persuaded by opposing councillors mayor Milne and deputy Gary Bagnall, who argued the scenic value of Tweed Coast Road would be destroyed by fast-food outlets such as McDonald’s or KFC.
So, after the approval of Crs Longland, Byrne, Polglase and Youngblutt, the Tweed Council sent its submission in to the state planning office saying they didn’t object to the service station and food outlets.
However, the state government ruled in April 2016 to refuse the application and stated the following:
‘The key issues raised during consultation included potential impacts on state significant farmland and wetlands, water quality, traffic, noise, air quality, potential pollution of service station fuel on soil and groundwater, potential impacts on koalas and justification for an additional service station in the area.
In its assessment, the department concluded the modification request would pose risks to the adjacent state significant farmland.
It was also considered inconsistent with the rural character of the area and would potentially undermine the ongoing protection of the nearby wetlands.’
As is their right, the developer has challenged the state government’s refusal in the Land and Environment Court.
Mayor Milne suggested that council join the case after the state government sought support from the council.
During the meeting, the mayor changed her recommendation. She now put up a recommendation that council support the state government with a letter, which would hopefully help persuade the court. The mayor’s motion read:
‘That Council, as requested by the NSW Department of Planning, provides additional comments and recommended conditions for consideration in the upcoming Section 34 Conference to be held Monday 30 January 2017 as tabled by the Mayor at the Extraordinary Confidential Meeting.’
Supporting the mayor were Crs Reece Byrnes, Chris Cherry and Ron Cooper while Crs James Owen, Warren Polglase and Cr Pryce Allsop voted against.
Just up the Coast Road from this site, in 2013 Crs Byrne, Polglase and Youngblutt had tried unsuccessfully to rezone a property and have the regional police headquarters situated on it.
Early attempts to rezone Cudgen’s state-significant zoned farmland to residential have also failed.
Some residents and farmers believe that if that site had been developed into a housing estate or a police station and then the service station followed, it may not have been long until the farmland and scenic values were greatly diminished.
One Tweed Coast resident told councillors during the community access meeting on Tuesday that ‘we’re just very disappointed that throughout the whole process we haven’t had any assistance from council or that they have objected’.
For now, objecting farmers and residents can thank mayor Katie Milne, deputy mayor Chris Cherry, and Crs Cooper and Byrnes for supporting them and the state government.
Next Monday, the Land and Environment Court will make its ruling.
* Gary Bagnall is a former Tweed shire deputy mayor
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