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THE TWEED SHIRE Volume 2 #04 Thursday, September 24, 2009 Advertising and news enquiries: Phone: (02) 6672 2280 Fax: (02) 6672 4933 editor@tweedecho.com.au adcopy@tweedecho.com.au www.tweedecho.com.au
page 15
LOCAL & INDEPENDENT
Harbour overhaul begins at long last Ken Sapwell
New skate park now wide open Youngsters keen on skaterboarding, scooter and BMX bike riding around Tweed Heads now have a place to call their own after the official opening of the state-of-the-art Sk8 park last Saturday. The new and long-awaited skate park’s concrete bowl, however, has already been put through its paces in the weeks leading up to the opening with many young users taking
In the photo a local scooter rider backflips above the new skate bowl, already decorated with freelance signage, while mayor Warren Polglase and MP Justine Elliot (background, left) look on. Photo Jeff ‘Hold Me Tight’ Dawson
advantage of the new facility. The skate park, on the corner of Heffernan Street and Minjungbal Drive, Tweed Heads South, was jointly funded by the federal government and Tweed Shire Council so it was only apt that Richmond
MP Justine Elliot and new Tweed mayor Warren Polglase officiated at the opening. Ms Elliot said a lot of time and effort had gone into planning for the skate park and ‘it’s good to see continued on page 2
Work began this week on a $7 million overhaul of the Jack Evans Boat Harbour in a bid to recreate a familyfriendly destination for locals and tourists. Mayor Warren Polglase joined federal MP for Richmond Justine Elliot on Monday to turn the first sod amid the ruins of a former caravan park, hailing it as a major milestone for Tweed Heads and the community. The long-stalled project gets underway with the help of a $1.8 million grant from the federal government’s jobs program and a $5 million budget allocation from the council. But the council has been forced to drastically reduce the scale of landscaping works following its shock failure to secure additional federal funding for what was originally a $14.35 million project. Cr Polglase said existing funds would enable the council to complete about 60 per cent of the work envisaged under the revitalisation plans, including full restoration of the former Border Caravan Park site and new drainage pipes. ‘This project has been in the pipeline for 15 years so it is very gratifying for myself and for the council to announce that we will finally see some works on the ground starting this week,’ Cr Polglase said. ‘The revitalisation of the harbour will be the catalyst for a rejuvenation of Tweed Heads that certainly needs a new direction after many tough years for local businesses. ‘We have been through a lot of consultants who have come and gone over the years but we finally have a plan which will deliver open space, playing areas, barbecues and the beach.’
The $7 million stage one will also include boardwalks, harbour revetment, a cycleway, park furniture, landscaping, barbecues and the first stage of an Aboriginal botanic gardens. The project’s final design was subject to extensive consultation and follows a series of aborted plans to resurrect the harbour as a tourist mecca following the closure of the caravan park in 1994. A major part of the project includes two new drainage pipes fitted with pollution traps the size of small trucks to replace six pipes, including two from over the border, which currently drain into the harbour. Cr Polglase said a push by the council’s own river committee and some environmental groups to extend the pipes to the river had to be put on hold because of the enormous costs involved.
Significant project Ms Elliot said the overhaul was a significant community project. ‘It will not only revitalise the Tweed Heads CBD but will create and retain 34 construction jobs which will support the local community during these difficult times,’ she said. ‘When complete the area will provide locals and holiday makers with a fantastic family friendly location.’ Stage One includes a cycleway with link to Bay, Boundary and Coral Streets, boardwalks, beach decks and platforms, new headland with ‘all abilities’ access ramp and rock pools, rejuvenated and enlarged beach areas, landscaping including tree planting and garden beds, seating, rubbish/ recycling bins, drinking fountains, lighting and signage, barbecue and picnic area with shelters. ■ See also Blueprint for CBD, page 2
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