Relocating the Tweed Hospital to to the contentious new site at Kingscliff has divided the community with many claiming that it is just the first step to remove the state significant farmland (SSF) status and opening it up for development.
Reinforcing this concern has been the purchase of the adjoining block of SSF by Brisbane based developer IRBS who have now approached Health Infrastructure to look at ways of utilising the adjoining block of SSF as part of the new hospital development.
While local National Party member Geoff Provest stated to the Sydney Morning Herald that locating the new hospital on SSF would not ‘open the floodgates to further development’ the block of land next to the hospital site was bought by IRBS for $4.51m soon after his statement.
Ministers confirmation sought
The Kingscliff Ratepayers and Progress Association (KRPA) have recently sought confirmation from the NSW Minister for Planning, the Hon Rob Stokes regarding the government guarantee that was provided by Mr Provest and other members of the state government, that no further SSF would be lost as a result of the development of the Tweed Valley Hospital.
‘The response from Mr Stokes to our initial communications in December was certainly less clear and unambiguous and we have written to the Minister again to seek further clarification and assurances that no remaining SSF will be at risk and protections will be retained,’ said Gaida Macs, president of the KRPA.
‘We are yet to hear back from Mr Provest, who we included in our communications to the Minister. We will continue to follow up with Mr Provest regarding our concerns, so that he has the opportunity to reinforce his initial guarantees and present our case to the Minister.
‘Having a major infrastructure development on the Cudgen plateau is less than ideal, however, we can work with the Government to ensure that the impact on the very fabric of what makes our coastal and rural community unique and attractive to holiday makers and residents alike is minimised.
‘The resumption or loss to development of any further SSF would be devasting to the community. The ongoing protection of this valuable and unique resource is critical to the character of our wonderful district.’
Mr Provest is supposedly representing our interests in the Tweed / Kingscliff area but when approached by me in regard to local concerns , he never replied after numerous emails to my concerns. I seriously wonder if he does actually represent us when it comes down to local matters?
Honesty speaking,
The hospital could/should have been situated on many other sites more suitable than this
Cudgen is ssf for good reason and deserves to keep this status for decades to come
Of course this is a big picture development.. all of a sudden our Famers Market held at Kingscliff TAFE has had rent tripled .. why??
The purchase of adjoining land by a developer
was fishy from the outset
We all know what’s going on and I for one feel .. if this ssf property next door to the hospital is rezoned we can say goodbye to this beautiful plateau and hello to high rise and housing
We have a state 99% drought and yet we still enjoy great regular rainfall on beautiful rich volcanic soil with temperate/subtropical climate
From Jared Diamond ‘Collapse’ ‘For the first time in history, we face the risk of global decline. But we also are the first to enjoy the opportunity of learning quickly from developments in societies anywhere else in the world today, and from what has unfolded in societies at any time in the past. That’s why I wrote this book.’
This is worrying. Looks to me like a somewhat transparent attempt to gradually remove ssf status for cudgen 🙁
What Crock of shit Cudgen it’s the perfect place for the Hospital,The Farm land is wore out all they grow there is sweet potatoes,that’s all the soils good for them poor farmers Have been hanging out for this all there lives,go to cudgen and check it out for your self ,ask the farmers,even cuden estate was build on So called Prime Farm Land and the the High school,that land was just a swamp,You Have to have lived there to know this.Ask the Prichards and the julius which have farmed this land all there lives.The Land Is Farmed out.
Farmers ? What farmers ? All they do is degrade the land , leave it open for water and wind erosion and winge winge winge when they cant afford thier $ 130000 landcruised ever year . Save our red soil yeah stop the shit farmers letting it all wash into Cudgen creek. If the farms were a construction site they would all be in jail for continual enviromental breaches
There was hundreds even thousands of other places they could have put the hospital. it’s just the council wanting to make money out of parking because once they put parking metres at the hospital ,then comes the shopping centre the main road the beach, then the reserves and who know what’s next, but it won’t be for the people.
C.f. ever heard of crop rotation