A local protest group are not going to take plans for the new Tweed hospital lying down.
The Relocate Tweed Valley Hospital from State Significant Farmland team are staging a peaceful protest outside the office of local member Geoff Provest this Friday October 5, at 10am.
Their aim is to bring to his attention their frustration at not being listened to by their local politicians, and to let them know that thousands are against the choice of site for the new Tweed Valley Hospital.
‘We disagree that there has been extensive community consultation,’ said a Relocate rep. ‘So now we are giving Geoff the chance to properly consult with us.
‘We have also contacted the Premier and their office has admitted they have received hundreds of emails but she has not responded to the community or taken the time to listen to the farmers nor the outer communities concerns.
‘The residents don’t want Kingscliff to become the new regional city once Tweed Heads Hospital closes and the new Tweed Valley Hospital opens. Our local council has always planned for Tweed Heads to remain the city, with appropriate high rise development north of the river.
‘This decision by the state government overturns all of their planning for the commercial centre to be in Tweed Heads.
While many will agree a new hospital is needed, the location of the facility has been a bone of contention from the very start.
‘We need Geoff Provest to take our message to Sydney, directly to Premier Berejiklian, who so far has refused to engage with us. She must be reminded that we all vote, and ignoring us is not a good option!’
“We have also contacted the Premier and their office has admitted they have received hundreds of emails”
A whole hundreds when the population of the area it’s intended to service is 95,000!
“The residents don’t want Kingscliff to become the new regional city once Tweed Heads Hospital closes and the new Tweed Valley Hospital opens.”
And there we have it. This has little to do with farm land or wildlife and everything to do with NIMBYs not wanting the hospital in their town. Just get on with building the hospital.
What are NIMBYs?
Yes, the residents do not want the new hospital built in their town because they want to build it on STATE SIGNIFICANT FARMLAND that also includes a section of rainforest. Have environmental studies been carried out on the entire site and the effect it will have on the community? The townships of Kingscliff and Cudgen will not cope with the 3000 staff attending daily plus patients and visitors travelling to and from the area. And yes, the hospital will service a population of 95000 but it will only have a direct impact on the 8000 residents of Kingscliff and Cudgen. A site selection criteria was that they wanted a site above the flood plain. The site on Cudgen Rd. may be above the flood plain but all access to the site is not.