Residents are holding firm against a proposal to develop State Significant Farmland (SSF) near the Tweed Valley Hospital at Cudgen, after the Northern Regional Planning Panel (NRPP) held a public meeting on Friday 19 June around the Planning Proposal for Cudgen Connection (PP-2023-2669-Cudgen Connection).
The proposal is for a ‘health, education and community precinct’, including 225 ‘affordable dwellings’, with a $300m capital investment.
There are 34 documents around the proposal posted on www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/ppr/post-exhibition/cudgen-connection.
The Echo previously reported, ‘When the hospital was proposed on SSF, the issue split the community, and when the hospital was approved and the site re-zoned from SSF, both sides of the political spectrum gave “iron clad” promises that there would be no further development of or rezoning of SSF on the Cudgen plateau’.
Located at 741 Cudgen Road, the proposal is led by the Centuria Capital Group, an ASX-200 listed investment manager, in partnership with Digital Infratech. According to cudgenconnection.com, Centuria manages over $1.4 billion in healthcare real estate across Australia and New Zealand and is the primary proponent. Digital Infratech is a multidisciplinary group covering technology, construction, property and infrastructure.
Gateway determination
In May 2024, The Echo reported that six councillors voted that the gateway determination should be refused, with one in favour. Tweed Council staff recommended that it proceed.
Despite the public and Council and state MP opposition, the proposal was listed for a Gateway Determination by the NRPP just days after the Tweed Shire elections on 14 September, 2024.
The Kingscliff Ratepayers and Progress Association (KRPA) have been vocal in its opposition, saying that they and other community associations ‘challenged the eleventh hour change of heart on the viability of the proposed site as protected, State Significant Farmland, asking the panel to closely consider this information’.
KRPA President Peter Newton told The Echo, ‘Our communities really need our state and federal elected representatives to stand with us in lobbying the NSW Planning Minister to honour the long standing commitments to the Tweed community that no more protected State Significant Farmland (SSF) would be lost following the construction of the Tweed Valley Hospital’.
‘Given all the promises and guarantees, if the NSW Labor government approves the rezoning of this parcel of Cudgen SSF, it will be the ultimate betrayal of community trust.
‘Council clearly expressed at the public meeting the impact this developer-led proposal would have on our critical local and Shire infrastructure should this proposal be approved and the resultant significant risk to the already planned and approved housing developments on appropriate zoned land.
‘There is no masterplan for this speculative proposal, no confirmed partnerships for the hospital and education facilities and so many outstanding issues raised by the community, NSW Government Agencies and Council to be simply flicked to and addressed at the DA stage post a rezoning. It is not unreasonable to suggest that if these significant matters can’t be resolved, the land owner will see a rezoning windfall and the community will only see the further loss of our protected SSF.
‘The changes sought to the LEP to allow this proposal to proceed, will see unconscionable Gold Coast style tower developments of up to 38m on the Cudgen Plateau’ Mr Newton added.
SSF contested issue
The key contested issue, according to the proponent’s response to submissions (December 2025) is the site’s State Significant Farmland (SSF) classification.
While the Department of Primary Industries raised concerns, the proponent argues site-specific fieldwork shows the 5.7ha block has negligible agricultural capacity — contributing just 0.04 per cent of regional agricultural value — and that roughly 200ha of the broader mapped SSF area is already zoned urban.
The proponent contends the site rounds off an existing urban boundary between Tweed Valley Hospital and Cudgen Village.
A flood impact assessment was still pending at the time of submission.
The panel decision is expected to be made on Thursday or Friday this week.
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