This section of the web site has been established given the scale and importance of these two developments to the Tweed Shire, and to assist with the community’s understanding of the complex range of further approvals required to advance the construction of the new development on both sites.
Please click on the headings below to select the desired information...
Where are Kings Forest and Cobaki located?
Kings Forest
The Kings Forest site is located on the far north coast of NSW, approximately 20km south of the Queensland and NSW border. Bogangar and Cabarita Beach lie to the south of the site beyond Cudgen Lake which abuts the site to the south-east. Cudgen and Kingscliff lie to the north. Casuarina lies to the east of the site across the Tweed Coast Road. Cudgen Nature Reserve adjoins the site on the eastern perimeter (Figure 1).
Tweed Coast Road, a Council responsibility, runs north to south, to the east of the site and is the primary arterial road connecting to the development. The RTA controlled Pacific Highway runs to the west of the site, no access to this road is proposed.
Figure 1: Site Location
Source: NSW Department of Planning, Director-General’s Report Part 3A Approval of Kings Forest, August 2010.
Cobaki
The site at Cobaki Lakes covers 17 individual allotments and is located within the local government area of Tweed Shire Council. The entire site is owned by LEDA Manorstead Pty Ltd, who is also the proponent.
The site is located on the New South Wales and Queensland border approximately 1.5 kilometres west of the Gold Coast Airport and approximately 6 kilometres inland of Tweed Heads (refer Figure 2). Adjoining the site to the east is a wetland protected by State Environmnent Planning Policy No. 14 - Coastal Wetlands, Cobaki Creek and the Cobaki Broadwater. Remnant bushland forest areas lie to the west and north of the site and are zoned for environmental protection. Agricultural land primarily used for cattle grazing adjoins the site to the south and to the north-west. To the south-west is a golf course, which is zoned rural.
Figure 2: Site Location
Source: NSW Department of Planning, Director-General’s Report Part 3A Approval of Cobaki, December 2010.
Background to the Part 3A Approval by the State Government
Both the Cobaki and Kings Forest have been identified within the State Government’s Far North Coast Regional Strategy and Council’s own adopted “Tweed Urban and Employment Lands Release Strategy 2009” as two of the largest contributors for the provision of new housing and employment within the Tweed Shire over the next 25 year time period.
Given the scale, complexity of planning and environmental issues, and state wide planning significance, the NSW Minister for the Planning took over the role as the consent authority for the assessment of the initial redevelopment proposals and zoning changes for the Cobaki and Kings Forest sites under Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.
The Part 3A process is quite different to the local development consent role that NSW Councils such as the Tweed Shire generally administer. Apart from the zoning changes, the main form of planning and environmental assessment was managed by the NSW Department of Planning. For both sites, the development proponents LEDA Manorstead Pty Ltd submitted Concept Plans which were publicly submitted, and required substantial liaison with Tweed Council.
What development is proposed?
A summary of the main aspects of the Concept Plans is provided below:
Cobaki
- A new mixed, residential, commercial, community use redevelopment;
- Seventeen residential precincts with a mix of housing types including detached houses, townhouses and multi-unit housing to a maximum of 3 storeys, comprising approximately 5,500 dwellings (a new population of between 10,000 and 12,000 people);
- A mixed use Town Centre and Neighbourhood Centre to a maximum of 3 storeys of retail, commercial, community and residential uses;
- Community and education precincts including 2 public primary schools;
- Active and passive open space areas covering approximately 87 hectares of land;
- Environmental protection areas covering approximately 194 hectares of land;
- Access network of roads, public transport routes and pedestrian/cycle path;
- Landscaping and vegetation management; and
- Utility services infrastructure.
Kings Forest
- A new mixed, residential, commercial, community use redevelopment;
- Twenty three (23) residential precincts with a mix of housing types including detached houses, terraces and attached dwellings on corner allotments, comprising 4,500 dwellings (a new population of over 10,000 residents) covering approximately 270 hectares of net developable land;
- A mixed use Town Centre and Neighbourhood Centre with building heights of 2-3 storeys with a combined land area of 14.4 hectares;
- Community and education facilities including 2 public primary schools and a community facility over 14.5 hectares of land;
- A business park covering 7 hectares of land;
- A golf course covering 57 hectares of land that also acts as a buffer between the environmental protection areas and the residential development;
- Active and passive open space areas;
- Environmental protection areas covering 338.5 hectares of land;
- Access network of roads, public transport routes and pedestrian/cycle paths;
- Landscaping and vegetation management;
- Water management areas and lakes; and
- Utility services infrastructure.
The entire range of plans, information and documentation for each of these proposals can be viewed through the Major Projects register of the NSW Department of Planning’s web site, by clicking http://majorprojects.planning.nsw.gov.au/page/
Details of the Minister of Planning’s Concept Plan Approvals
The Minister for Planning granted Part 3A approval for the Concept Plans for both Cobaki and Kings Forest in late 2010. Links to the approval documents for both sites can be found under the Determination documents section of the relevant NSW Planning and Infrastructure Major Projects web site pages (links provided below).
Cobaki Concept Plan
Kings Forest Concept Plan
New Development Code
As part of the Part 3A process for both sites, the Minister approved new site specific Development Codes, which generally incorporate the main planning, subdivision and engineering controls from Tweed Council’s existing policy documents. A link to the Cobaki Code can be found on the Determination documents section of the relevant NSW Planning and Infrastructure Major Projects web site page (link provided below).
Cobaki Concept Plan
Other Part 3A Approvals
Further to the Part 3A Concept Plan processes for both Cobaki and Kings Forest, the proponent has also chosen to submit Part 3A Project Applications to the NSW Department of Infrastructure and Planning for the major infrastructure works (bulk earthworks, major roads, stormwater and the like) required to guide the subdivision framework, and future development plans for each precinct. Following the approval of the Project Applications, it is expected that Council will undertaking the role of consent authority for subsequent applications under Part 4 of the Act.
A Project Application for the Cobaki site was assessed and approved concurrently by the NSW State Government at the same time as the Minister’s Concept Plan approval in late 2010.
In late 2011, further to the Kings Forest Concept Plan approval, the proponents submitted an application to the NSW State Government to modify the Concept Plan, as well as a Project Application for bulk earthworks and infrastructure across the site, and the first development precincts, Precinct 1 (rural retail) and Precinct 5 (a residential subdivision).
Following a period of public exhibition, Tweed Shire Council endorsed a report as the basis for a submission on these plans at its meeting of 24 January 2012. The next stage of the process is for the proponent to provide a response to all the exhibition submissions, and preparation of a Preferred Project Report for final consideration by the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure.
Full details of these applications can be found on the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure’s web site under the Major Projects register.
Tweed Council and JRPP Development Consent Role
Concurrent Federal Government Approvals Process for Cobaki
Concurrent to the NSW State Governments and Tweed Council approvals processes for the Cobaki development, the proponents were also required to seek separate Federal Government approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act), for what has been categorised as a “controlled action”. The assessment relates to various impacts upon listed threatened species and ecological communities, listed migratory species and Commonwealth land. Information on this action can be viewed on the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts web site.
On 13 October 2011, approval was granted by the Federal Government for the proponent’s “controlled action” at Cobaki, subject to various conditions.