Around 80 people gathered at Cabarita Sports Club on Wednesday last week for an information night about the latest Kings Forest concept plan and its impacts on the local area.
The development will include 4500 housing lots, a golf course, two primary schools, and shopping facilities, and will occupy a large area between Kingscliff and Cabarita with a single entrance along Tweed Coast Road.
Speakers included Sam Dawson, Secretary of the Caldera Environment Centre; Chris Core, Secretary of the Friends of Cudgen Nature Reserve; Councillor Katie Milne; and Kingscliff resident Scott Sledge.
Mr Sledge spoke about the broader social impacts of the development. He cautioned against the belief that an increase in population would automatically create employment, saying that most of the jobs created would be short term construction jobs and that there would be a net increase in job seekers in the region.
Other speakers focused on environmental impacts of the development, in particular the risk to the small remaining population of Tweed Coast koalas, which is estimated to be only around 144 individuals, placing the population at high risk of extinction.
Cr Milne addressed a range of environmental concerns about the development. She said it was possible to protect the endangered species in the area if the development were ‘high rise’ rather than the current plan of 4500 separate lots.
“If the developer were happy to have only 2500 instead of 4500 lots, it would still be the largest single development to date in Tweed,” Cr Milne said.
Secretary of the Friends of Cudgen Nature Reserve, Chris Core, said changes were needed to protect the nature reserve.
“We’re very concerned that the development is going to have a negative impact on the nature reserve,” Mr Core said.
“We acknowledge that the developer is going to dedicate some land to the nature reserve, however we think that should happen ahead of the development, so that the flora and fauna can be protected from the bulk earthworks.
“There will be earthworks on a giant scale to flatten out the site for housing. At the moment there’s no timing indicated as to when the land will become reserve, it may happen after it has already been seriously disturbed.
“Fencing of the nature reserve should also happen ahead of the development to protect fauna that try to move through the development. The fencing should be of a different specification to what they propose – it needs to be floppy top cyclone fencing, or the koalas will climb over it.
“We’re concerned about the water course to Cudgen Lake, and also the drainage pattern which appears to be using Blacks Creek as the major channel to drain KF which then goes through the nature reserve.’
“If these measures aren’t taken, the development will threaten the viability of the nature reserve, which is a jewel in the Tweed Coast.”
Mr Core said the main species of concern were the koala, wallum froglet, grass owl, bush stone curlew and potaroo.
“Apart from Section 94 contributions, we think there should be an environmental maintenance fund established by the developer because a lot of the environmental measures they propose have no monitoring, feedback or evaluation. If we think people are going to move in with their dogs and just obey a few signs, it’s not a realistic long term approach.”
Submissions can be made until January 25. For help in making a submission, go to http://bluecray.org. Submissions need only be a few lines stating your concerns about the current concept plan. For more information please contact Andrea Vickers on 0415 612 469.
