Residents of Kingscliff Street have vowed to fight on to stop the proposed new Tweed-Byron Regional Police Headquarters despite the NSW Government’s Joint Regional Planning Panel (JRPP) giving it the green light.
Meeting at the Tweed Heads Civic Centre last week, the JRPP gave an “in-principal” approval to the proposed $14 million development subject to the Tweed Shire Council and NSW Police carrying out further negotiations on car parking.
The proposed regional head-quarters will replace the current Kingscliff police station situated off Marine Parade just north of the Kingscliff Bowls Club.
Speaking after the meeting last week, JRPP chairman Garry West said wherever the headquarters went, it was going to “cause some local impact”.
He said 30 people from the community, in addition to representatives from the “applicants” – the Police Service – had attended.
“The local community presented their views in a passionate manner,” Mr West said.
Speakers against the proposal included former police officers, local residents and members of the Kingscliff Chamber of Commerce.
Ken Humphrey, who spoke at the meeting at the Civic Centre, and Ron Knox, who also attended, live just behind the proposed development and have vowed to fight on despite the “in-principal” approval. The duo said they and their fellow residents would be taking their battle to all the relevant state government ministers to try and have it moved away from suburbia.
The duo said they thought more than 100 local resident and businesses were now against the proposal.
Mr Knox called the proposal a “mammoth monolith” that would change their “serene environment for ever more”.
Mr Humphrey’s said however the group were far from being anti police.
“Our residents are in favour of a police presence in Kingscliff and in no way oppose the development because it is a police building,” Mr Humphrey said.
“We all bought our homes knowing there was a police station nearby.
“No, it is the proposed overdevelopment of the police site which causes all the problems.”
Mr Humphrey said planners estimated an initial daytime staff of 53 but this number could only increase as the area grows. He said they also expected a lot of visitors to the police headquarters and residents were concerned their streets would be filled with cars and visitors to their homes would no longer be able to find parking spots.
Mr Humphrey said several older residents were also concerned they would be over-looking a “holding yard” where cars involved in fatal accidents would be brought.
“The local residents’ outlook and valuations will be further damaged by the car wreck yard with its floodlighting and security fencing, showing on the plan as being accessed from Kingscliff Street,” he said.
“Open greenery will give way to stark asphalt of a car park, 42 apartments, a motel and five houses will now look out over a barren car park/holding yard instead of the current open space.”
