Cudgen Creek is being ‘loved to death’ and it is putting people at risk say locals. Councillor James Owen will be bringing the issue to the attention, again, of other councillors while Cr Dr Nola Firth will be looking at the importance of cool towns and ageism.
Cudgen Creek – Kingscliff
Development of the Cudgen Creek Masterplan was approved in February 2021 but has yet to be started leaving the Kingscliff community frustrated and highlighting the risks to people using the area as well as the negative environmental impacts. The issue was brought to Council’s 18 May meeting but was deferred for a councillor workshop.
At this afternoon’s Council meeting, Cr Owen will be moving a Notice of Motion (NoM) to prioritise the ‘Cudgen Creek Masterplan so that community engagement and masterplan can commence in June 2023’.
He is also seeking to extend ‘ the scope for the area covered by the masterplan to include the creek and surrounding areas from Sutherland Street Bridge to the mouth of the Creek on both sides of the creek’.
What works can be dropped or postponed?
Council staff have previously said that to bring the masterplan forward they would have to defer other programs due to limited staff resources and funding. The staff have estimated that financial and other resourcing commitments for this project would be in the order of $250k.
Staff have said that, ‘we can commence the community engagement and master planning in September this year’ but have made it clear that they are ‘ heavily dependent on funding through grants’ so could not provide a date for undertaking any works.
They have also reiterated that to undertake and complete works before the next holiday season would be challenging and require the reprioritisation of other projects.
Council staff has outlined the following ten programs that councillors can choose to defer: 1. Goorimahbah Place of Stories Stage 2; 2. Recreation Park – District Playground and Public Toilet; 3. Ray Pascoe Park – Playground Upgrade and Public Toilet; 4. Jack Evans Boat Harbour – Places to Swim Project; 5. Outdoor Youth Recreation Action Plan; 6. Uki Mountain Bike Park; 7. Pottsville Open Space Masterplan; 8. Burringbar – Masterson Park Concept Design; 9. Jack Evans Boat Harbour – Places to Love Project; or 10. Sport and Active Recreation Strategy.
Community safety
Councillor Pwen has told The Echo that he has ‘major concerns for community safety in and around Cudgen Creek and I’m disappointed that the council staff have seemingly kicked the can down the road in relation to the Cudgen Creek masterplan for more than two years now.
‘I accept that there is significant pressure on council resources and budgets at the moment, and developing a full masterplan is unlikely for some time to come, however, there are some significant safety concerns that I believe need addressing as a matter of priority. Therefore, I’ll be moving an amendment to my Notice of Motion to request an urgent report with respect to issues on and around Cudgen Creek that pose a potential safety risk to the community and a potential liability to council. I will ask that the report include solutions to address the issues, a timeline for implementation, budget considerations and that council staff engage with community representatives, including the Kingscliff Ratepayers and Progress Association, when compiling the report,’ he said
‘Whilst there are many competing priorities and projects that council staff are working to deliver my question to council staff is, “Which of those projects or priorities could result in an accident or harm to a member of our community if not delivered. My fear is that if the issues at Cudgen Creek are not addressed soon someone could be seriously hurt, or worse.’
Cool Towns and Ageism
Councillor Dr Nola Firth is bringing a number of NoMs to the meeting including one on ‘Ageism’ and another on the ‘Cool Towns’ policy.
‘I have spoken to a number of people in our community about seminars for the general public on addressing ageism and many of the older people get quite excited about the idea,’ she told The Echo.
Cool Towns
The Cool Towns policy, Cr Firth says, needs funding to be able to move forward.
‘I am really keen that we have a budget to support the cool town’s program. It is increasingly important that we are prepared for the coming heat. We know that heat is going to be a bigger killer than floods or bushfires and cool towns policies are being picked up by many councils.’
The Community Education Officer for cool towns was appointed earlier this year and currently has no budget.
‘Though money is very tight I am hoping we can find enough to get her started,’ said Cr Firth.
‘An important part of the cool town’s policy is about valuing our local environment particularly because our biodiversity is under threat. We need local native species in our urban forests because we are this internationally significant environment and we have the most threatened species in Australia. So we need to include our urban areas in our biodiversity.
‘We know the value of trees now and the fact that they increase property values, reduce pollution and erosion, increase carbon storage, improve mental health and that is before you take into account their importance to native species and biodiversity in the region.’
Education and access to information including what native species can be planted is a key aim of funding this position as well as buying and planting plants to reduce things like the urban heat island effect.
‘Online and booklet information for new residents will inform them that they are required to plant 80 per cent natives and help them reduce the weed species being planted. It will remind them that the nature strips belong to council and that there are big fines for removing native trees. Science tells us that even a few trees planted together can have a remarkable impact and begin to reduce temperatures by three degrees or more. It is very effective.’
The Tweed Council meeting starts at 3.30pm today at the Harvard Room, Tweed Heads Administration Office following open access. You can watch the livestream here.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
