TWEED’S BOLD LAND SWAP INITIATIVE TO PROTECT BUSINESSES FROM FLOODING

TWEED’S BOLD LAND SWAP INITIATIVE

TO PROTECT BUSINESSES FROM FLOODING

Tweed Shire Council Manager Land and Economic Development Ray Musgrave, General Manager Troy Green, Mayor Chris Cherry, Williams Group Australia General Manager Lyndon Poirrier and Alder Constructions General Manager Dean Cheffers turning the first sod on the new industrial land swap at Industry Central in South Murwillumbah in June 2022.

Tweed Shire has been suffering from the long-term effects of flooding way before the devastating events of 2022, with many businesses in the area still reeling in the aftermath of the then-record flood of 2017. Faced with the prospect of the region’s businesses, and employment, packing up and leaving the area, the council came up with an innovative solution – inviting affected landowners to swap their flood-prone industrial land for new elevated property.

In March 2017, the Tweed Shire in northern New South Wales suffered what was then a record flood, after the remains of ex-cyclone Debbie battered the region.

Six residents tragically died in the deluge and thousands of residential and business properties were inundated.

Among the worst affected areas was

South Murwillumbah, which for the most part sits on a flat floodplain alongside the Tweed River. It is also one of the main industrial centres of the Tweed

Shire, home to some of the region’s oldest and largest businesses and was a significant centre of employment.

In the aftermath of the disaster, Tweed Shire Council General Manager, Troy Green, knew something had to be done.

“Small businesses are the life-blood of the community and we knew we had to do something to help them recover from the disaster and provide confidence in the region moving forward,” Mr Green said.

“Without long-term security, we were concerned businesses might consider moving out of the area and along with them, their jobs.”

With Council’s own depot among the flood-impacted businesses, Mr Green and his team were on the lookout for higher ground off the floodplain to relocate to, and in the process came up with the idea of undertaking an industrial land swap in the Tweed.

SIMPLE IDEA, COMPLEX UNDERTAKING

Five years later, and with another record flood in February–March 2022, the industrial land swap is finally underway, with construction works set to begin in September 2022.

Thanks to a $6.6 million grant from the New South Wales Government, Council was able to acquire 14ha of suitable flood-free land at Lundberg Drive in

South Murwillumbah, to develop the new industrial estate.

The innovative plan will see eligible business landowners swap their floodprone land in South Murwillumbah with Council-owned, flood-free land at Industry Central, located close by but on elevated, flood-free land in the nearby new industrial estate.

“The plan has not been as easy as we thought it would be at the get-go,” Mr Green said.

“With little greenfield, flood-free land remaining in the Tweed, our first task was to identify suitable land close enough to the Murwillumbah CBD to keep jobs in the region.

“Once that was done, funding had to be secured, which involved rounds of lobbying the NSW Government for assistance.

“Then we had to look at the complex legalities involved in the change of land ownership and go through the usual development approval process.”

Mr Green said that with COVID-19 throwing a spanner in the works and putting the project on ice for a period, it took the Council five years to get to this point.

“Land swaps are far more complex than we realised at the start of this process,” Mr Green said.

PROJECT NOW IN FULL SWING

Building company Alder Constructions was awarded the $3.18 million contract to design and construct all public infrastructure at Lundberg Drive in Industry Central, including the roads, stormwater, reticulated sewer, water supply and telecommunications.

The new allotments are due to be completed by early 2023 and, once settlement has taken place, businesses can commence building their new premises on the site.

So far, five local businesses along with the Tweed Shire Council Depot, have confirmed they will be moving to the new site, with four allotments remaining unallocated.

Council has recently completed a second round of expressions of interest to allocate the remaining allotments to eligible businesses.

Part of the deal would see businesses remove all structures from their old premises, allowing Council to return that land to the floodplain, never to be developed again.

Mayor of Tweed Shire, Chris Cherry, said she was excited to see construction finally underway.

“It is crucial we undertake this land swap. We must get businesses off the floodplain and up to higher ground if we are to ensure confidence in the local economy. Our region is growing and we are keen to support our business sector wherever we can.”

Mayor Cherry said there has also been renewed interest in the project following the flood earlier in 2022.

“Based on the feedback we received from businesses after this year’s flood, we launched a second, new expression of interest process to gauge interest in a second land swap project,” Mayor Cherry said.

“This would require suitable land to be identified and for the NSW Government to provide financial support.

“This could pave the way for future land swaps in the Tweed and across the Northern Rivers.”

HIGH AND DRY

Williams Group Australia General Manager, Lyndon Poirrier – whose business is one of the largest employers in the region – said the long-time Murwillumbah company was looking forward to moving to the new site.

“This project is an opportunity to future-proof a number of our businesses to ensure we continue our great contribution to the local economy which we have done since our establishment in 1935,” Mr Poirrier said.

“This will allow us to pursue the potential for a new state-of-the-art production facility on a flood-free, worry-free site, enabling us to explore new options such as world robotics, integrated operating platforms and logistics.

“It will also allow us to provide our people with a safer working environment into the future.”

Other businesses that have signed up for the land swap include 30 Marine Parade Pty Ltd, Mick Bourke Transport, North Commercial Pty Ltd and All Home Products & Improvements.

EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

Council also launched another EOI process to gauge interest in the remaining four allotments to be created as part of the original Land Swap project, with submissions closed early August.

“After five years of planning, the Land Swap project is now moving swiftly with construction of services due to be completed by early 2023,” Mr Green said.

“We have four lots still available, all of which are zoned for general industrial use and range in size from 1,970m² to 9,140m².

“This precinct will provide businesses with certainty and confidence to invest in the Tweed.”

“Land swaps are complex legal and planning initiatives which are rarely undertaken, with this project already five years in the making.” Tweed Shire Council Mayor, Chris Cherry.

The industrial area of South Murwillumbah was largely inundated during the February-March flood in 2022. The site of Tweed Shire Council’s new land swap in the new Industry Central area (marked in blue) remained above this record flood level. Image: Tweed Shire Council.