The long-discussed plan to build a boardwalk connecting Ocean Shores directly to the beach looks set to be put back in Council’s bottom drawer, after NSW National Parks reiterated its firm opposition to the idea.
For decades, locals in Ocean Shores have debated the idea of a pedestrian path connecting the main residential areas of their suburb to the shopping centre and on to New Brighton Beach.
There are those who argue that such a path would provide invaluable access to the beach for Ocean Shores locals, particularly for young people who can’t drive themselves to Brunswick Heads or New Brighton.
Strenuous opposition
But others strenuously oppose the plan on the grounds that it would require carving a path through the Marshalls Creek Nature Reserve – a pristine piece of coastal wetland that is home to several threatened ecological communities.
The idea bubbled back to the surface earlier this year during the development of the Place Plan for New Brighton, South Golden Beach and Ocean Shores – a document which sets the vision for this part of the Shire over the next 20 years.
Driven by a vocal section of the community who are in favour of the boardwalk, councillors voted to put it back in the table, instructing staff to engage NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) in discussions to see if the idea might have legs.
But those legs now appear to have been lopped off at the knees by the NPWS.
‘Constructing a boardwalk though Marshalls Creek Nature Reserve and Brunswick Heads Nature Reserve is inconsistent with the plans of management for each reserve,’ the Acting General Manager of the Tweed-Byron NPWS, Silas Sutherland said in a letter to Council.
High conservation values
‘NPWS does not propose or support amending either plan of management. Both Marshalls Creek and Brunswick Heads nature reserves have high conservation values, including numerous flora, fauna and ecological communities, that would be negatively impacted by the proposal.
‘The construction of a boardwalk through Marshalls Creek Nature Reserve would lead to further fragmentation of remnant native vegetation and pose an unacceptable risk to the reserve.’
Given that the NPWS has authority over the nature reserves, its opposition would appear to be fatal to the boardwalk plan.
Meanwhile, another much-discussed aspect of the Place Plan, the transformation of the Tom Kendall Oval into a multi-use village green has been included in the place plan.
Among the features being considered for the redeveloped village green are a playground, a kids’ pump-track, seating for recreation and events, and opportunities for public art.
In order to make up for the lost sportsfield, Council would build a new field at Bob Bellear Sports Field on Shara Boulevard.
However, this project comes with some significant complications, including the fact that areas of high-value vegetation would have to be cleared in order for the oval and associated amenities to be constructed.
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