In a departure from the government’s plan to build on Cudgen state significant farm land, and the opposition’s plan to locate the hospital in a koala corridor at Kings Forest, Greens North Coast MP Dawn Walker has called for the new Tweed Hospital to be re-developed on its existing site in Tweed Heads.
‘The Greens believe that Tweed desperately needs a new hospital to support our growing population and ensure the region receives access to quality medical services. However, we want sites in Tweed Heads to be considered for the new Hospital.
Ms Walker included in that ‘the existing site in Tweed Heads, which is close to the Tweed Heads population centre, existing allied health services and could be expanded through acquisition of adjoining properties to the west of the existing hospital’.
She queried why there was ‘such a push from Labor and the Nationals to build the new hospital south of the Tweed River on fertile farmland or a greenfield site with a regional wildlife corridor that is a long way away from the population centre of Tweed Heads’.
‘It’s appalling the way the National Party have sold-out local farmers with their plans to concrete over the state-significant farmland on the Cudgen Plateau and push for intense development on this fertile food producing land. They need to go back to the drawing board and talk with the community about re-developing the new Hospital in urban Tweed Heads where it belongs.
‘The last thing we want to do is bring Gold Coast sprawl south of the Tweed River and leave thousands of Tweed pensioners a long way from the new hospital; many of whom chose to retire in Tweed Heads due to its close proximity to medical services.
‘I will be pressuring the government to come clean on why they aren’t re-developing the existing Tweed Hospital site for the new hospital when parliament resumes’ Ms Walker said.
Port Macquarie needs a new hospital,take the money down there they would appreciate it not like us.
Tweed Mayor Katie Milne “called for the new Tweed Hospital to be re-developed on its existing site in Tweed Heads.”
Dawn Walker can’t walk in and take the mayor’s ideas.
It is the mayor’s call.
The land west of the hospital is a bowling club – a weekly or even daily trip for many Tweed Heads residents. Will they have to drive to Kingscliff to play bowls on the beachfront if the hospital consumes their club? Sounds like more travel to me.
Also the maximum driving time from Tweed Heads to the Cudgen rd proposed site will be about 10 minutes. In our major cities you sit in traffic for 10 minutes to travel down the road. Tweed Heads residents will STILL be closer to a major hospital than about 95% of Australia’s population. Is that worth winging about Ms Walker from the Greens? I hope you can see some perspective here.
Also most of the new Tweed new developments north and south of the river will be along or near the M1 – so Kingscliff with two M1 road offramp will be better access than the slow Kennedy drive that is already at capacity. I bet travelling at 110 along the M1 from Cobaki lakes estate in 2035 will be quicker to kingscliff than crawl along a one lane kennedy drive at 20km/ph.
Not to mention all those west and south of the river – do you care about their travel times?
It should be located nearest to the geographic and demographic centre of the region
Nathan,
Sympathise with your desire not to inconvenience the (comparative) handful of bowlers at the Bowls Club at Tweed Heads, but I hope the rest of your letter is a little more fact based than your comment about (the admittedly woeful) Kennedy Drive.
Last time I looked, Kennedy Drive was four lanes, except for a very short section at the Eastern end, where it is single lane in each direction.
Brilliant suggestion about locating the hospital nearest to the geographic centre of the region. On that basis, the New South Wales Government will no doubt soon be proposing relocating major facilities for the State somewhere mid way between Dubbo and Bourke.
Also, am not sure about your apparent claim that (I guess) the Kings Forest area is the population centre of the Tweed Region, so I shall not make a claim based on an unsubstantiated statement. However, are you seriously suggesting the bulk of the Tweed Shire population is somewhere well South of the Tweed Heads, Bilambil Heights, Banora Point triangle?
Greens North Coast MP Dawn Walker is correct in; “leave thousands of Tweed pensioners a long way from the new hospital; many of whom chose to retire in Tweed Heads due to its close proximity to medical services.”
This is undeniable, however to suggest that you could possibly build onto or surround the locality of the ‘refurbished’ & new premises for a hospital to the west is not viable due to noise and pr-existing buildings and only a small area to consider as for where the car park is maintained by the Tweed Heads Bowls Club.
if you were to go vertical of at least 20 stories and an underground car park to be shared by hospital and the bowls club it could be doable.
However, I feel that the best location for the hospital is where the Tweed Heads Greyhound Club is and for the club to cross the road between the Gold Coast Hwy and slightly to the north of Kennedy Drive.
At least this location could serve a large portion of the QLD & NSW population that are within a 10 km radius!
Thank you, well said. There’s a hospital pretty well in the middle of the Tweed Valley. It’s called Murwillumbah. It’s a very good hospital, with an excellent Ed. but has been downgraded so that The Tweed Hospital is now the main treatment centre
.
Whilst the coast is experiencing development, the major population and transport infrastructure is in, near and to Tweed.
The two proposed sites are accessed by narrow roads that are already extremely busy in warmer months and holiday seasons.
It is ridiculous to site a major hospital on these roads, in the middle of prime agricultural land, or flood prone land. Additionally consider the likelihood of isolation through flooding. Not just for patients, but also treating practitioners.
Those who have not lived here long term may not understand the impact of flooding, different areas can be affected at different times in different ways.