No new caravan park for Pottsville

THE Northern Regional Planning Panel has rejected plans for a $30 million caravan park at Pottsville.

The development application proposed a caravan park at 1183 Cudgera Creek Road with 267 long-term sites, 12 short-term sites, a clubhouse, outbuildings, and associated roads.

As the proposal was beyond Tweed Shire Council’s approval remit, the final decision was made by the Northern Regional Planning Panel (NRPP), which unanimously refused the application.

The panel found the proposal was not permissible because a key piece of infrastructure — the effluent dispersal area — was located on land that was not appropriately zoned.

The NRPP also considered a range of concerns outlined in Tweed Shire Council’s submission, including inconsistencies with the council’s goals around sustainable land management and conservation.

These included the protection and recovery of the Tweed coastal koala population and other threatened species.

The proposal, located on flood-prone land, attracted strong community opposition, particularly from residents of the Seabreeze and Koala Beach estates.

The panel noted it had received 155 community objections, and found the developer had not adequately addressed or mitigated the issues raised.