The rezoning of the State Significant Farmland (SSF) to build the Tweed Valley Hospital on the Cudgen Plateau near Kingscliff split the community and ultimately came with an ‘iron clad’ promise from local Nationals MP Geoff Provest that no more SSF would be rezoned.
However, the land next to the hospital site was bought by Allan Larkin, Director of Digital Infratech just days before the announcement that the SSF would be rezoned for the Tweed Valley Hospital site. Since then Mr Larkin has proposed a mixed-use site called Cudgen Connection. Initially, they proposed that the site to be part of the stage 2 hospital development but this was rejected. Now they are imminently submitting a development application (DA) that provides private hospital and medical suites, essential worker housing, koala research centre, an education and community housing precinct and more at the 5.7 hectare site.
Tweed Councillors write to the government
At the recent Tweed Shire Council (TSC) meeting (16 November, 2023) Councilors voted to write to Premier of NSW, Chris Minns, NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Paul Scully, NSW Leader of The Opposition, Mark Speakman, NSW Shadow Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Scott Farlow MLC, and Member for Tweed, Geoff Provest to request advice that ‘they will uphold the integrity of the Cudgen Plateau and support the existing retention of State Significant Farmland’.
When MP Provest originally promised that there would be no more development on the Cudgen Plateau The Echo also sought confirmation from then planning and agricultural ministers that they supported their local MP.
NSW Planning Minister Anthony Roberts told The Echo in February 2022 that, ‘The NSW government made a commitment to protecting the remaining Cudgen farmland in the Tweed Shire. I support the local member and thank Geoff Provest for his advocacy in ensuring this land is protected for the Tweed Shire community’.
Then Minister for Agriculture Dugald Saunders also told The Echo that in February 2022 that, ‘The NSW Government made a commitment to protecting the remaining Cudgen farmland in the Tweed Shire. I support the local member and thank Geoff Provest for his advocacy in ensuring this land is protected for the Tweed Shire community’.
Labor were on board
At the same time the opposition Labor party also committed to preserving the SSF with ajoint statement from local Tweed Labor councillor Reece Byrnes, along with then Shadow Minister for the North Coast Walt Secord, and Justine Elliot, Federal Member for Richmond saying, ‘Labor has always been committed to protecting the Cudgen farmland from development and that hasn’t changed. While we do not know the full details of this $250 million [cudgen Connection) project and it may have some merits, it should not be built on state significant farmland.’
The Labor position was again confirmed during the state election by candidate Craig Elliot who said that, ‘Labor is on the record as being committed to protecting State Significant Farmland. I have never supported having this prime agricultural land rezoned and sold off to developers.’
The Echo has contacted Labor NSW Minister for Planning Paul Scully and Labor NSW Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty to confirm Labor’s commitment to this statement and they will be responding by the end of today.
Elliott and Byrnes throw support behind SSF
Labor’s Tweed councillor Byrnes and Federal Member for Richmond Justine Elliot have today confirmed with The Echo that, ‘In relation to the Cudgen Connection development, Justine Elliot (Federal Member for Richmond) and Cr Reece Byrnes’ (Tweed Councillor) position remains the same. We stand with the community and oppose the development.’
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