On the last day before the NSW government goes into caretaker mode for the elections it appears the NSW Minister for Planning, Anthony Roberts has rushed through the decision for re-zoning the state-significant farmland at Cudgen, near Kingscliff for the new $528 million Tweed Valley Hospital site.
The controversial decision has split the Tweed community and has seen Labor weigh into the debate saying they would build the hospital at the Kings Forest site.
Keep it at Tweed
However, local resident Barbara Roughan has pointed out that many people don’t want the hospital moved at all and would prefer the current Tweed Heads site to be developed as was originally planned.
This is certainly the preference of the Greens-led Tweed Council who have repeatedly called for the current hospital site at Tweed to be expanded.
‘It does appear to that this whole thing has been rushed through with unseemly haste from the beginning,’ said Tweed Council Mayor, Katie Milne.
According to Mayor Milne in the July summary done by NSW Health Infrastructure they once again looked at the potential for expanding on the current site.
‘The fact is it came back as completely doable,’ she said.
‘At twenty per cent more expensive that is seen as well within the range of possibility when considered in the context of putting the hospital in the right place’.
Mayor Milne confirmed with Echonetdaily that during discussions with NSW Health Infrastructure they have raised the possibility of them buying the Tweed Council Chambers opposite the hospital to increase the viability of the site.
Local opposition
‘We’ve been expecting this,’ said Ms Roughan.
‘We’ve known since last August when the planning minister appointed a consultant to encourage allied health businesses to cluster around the catalyst Cudgen site.
‘It was all decided then. It is similar to a dictatorship when the minister has the sole power to override a community objections.
‘No amount of community objections were going to make the slightest bit of difference,’ she said.
‘Put Provest last’
‘But the community haven’t given up,’ she said spiritedly.
‘We are encouraging everyone to make sure the are enrolled to vote and to put Provest last. Also for all the Greens voters remember to put Labor after the Greens [or vice versa, so that the vote doesn’t die] because Labor have promised not to build the hospital at Kingscliff (Cudgen).’
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