The Tweed Business and Residence Focus Group (TB&RFG) may have claimed victory over the proposed Tweed Byron Police Headquarters for Marine Parade, Kingscliff, but the group isn’t giving up the battle yet.
Approval of the original DA for the LAC Headquarters was overturned in the Land and Environment Court late last week on a technicality, but the door has been left open for the application to be re-submitted.
Paul McMahon, President of the TB&RFG, a conglomeration of local ratepayers and members of the Tweed and Kingscliff Chambers of Commerce formed to fight the proposal, said the group had decided to be pro-active.
“We were happy we have a victory in the Land and Environment Court,” he said, “but we are not waiting around to see what happens next.”
Instead,the group took to the streets on Thursday and Friday and the local Lions Markets on Saturday morning to add more names to their petition.
Paul said they had been “blown away” by how much more aware the local residents were about what was planned for the site of the existing Kingscliff Police Station and with the support their campaign was now receiving.
“We received in excess of 600 signatures in a few hours on Thursday and Friday morning,” he said.
But, while he said the group did not want the Tweed Byron Local Area Command Headquarters built on the site of the current Kingscliff Station and two existing police residences, they were not against having the police station there.
“We also sympathise with the police not having their headquarters built,” he said. However he said Marine Parade was not a suitable place for such a building.
Tweed Byron LAC Superintendent Stuart Wilkins was not available to be contacted this week for comment.
