WORK IS well underway on the Kingscliff foreshore redevelopment with construction of the seawall beginning and stages 2 and 3 expected to commence in October
The holiday park, one of seven managed by Tweed Coast Holiday Parks closed in January this year for a major redevelopment as part of a $21.2 million Kingscliff Foreshore Revitalisation project to enhance and protect the foreshore.
The revitalisation project includes the construction of a permanent sea wall to protect the coastline, a major redevelopment of the Kingscliff Beach Holiday Park and the creation of Kingscliff Central Park.
Stage 1 of the redevelopment is currently underway and focuses on the establishment of a 500-metre-long permanent sea wall from the northern end of the Holiday Park to the southern end of Cudgen Surf Lifesaving Club, as well as a stepped concrete seawall down to the beach and the implementation of stormwater drainage.
The Kingscliff foreshore has seen severe erosion in recent years and the implementation of a seawall will protect land-based assets which are under serious threat from coastal hazards. Estimated timing for completion of the seawall is November, 2017.
Stage 2 of the project will focus on the redevelopment of Kingscliff Beach Holiday Park and Stage 3 of the project will see the creation of Kingscliff Central Park.
Construction for both is scheduled to begin in October 2017 and the Kingscliff Beach Holiday Park is expected to reopen in August 2018.
Construction work on the Kingscliff Beach Holiday Park began in early March with the demolition of existing infrastructure including the removal of toilet blocks, shelters and other structures, internal roads and selected vegetation.
Unit Coordinator Andrew Illingworth in conjunction with Council and Project Manager Stewart Brawley have endeavoured to reduce any negative impacts on the environment throughout the entire Holiday Park redevelopment. Park landscaping, internal park road re-establishment, traffic flow both during and post redevelopment through the main street and the use of local suppliers were all considered in the plans. Security fencing has also been installed around the work site with banner mesh screening probably with the help of firms like Atlantic Fence (https://atlanticfence.ca/). This is in order to contain dust from the work site.
Tweed Coast Holiday Parks said different layout configurations were considered for the Holiday Park redesign in order to preserve as many of the Norfolk Pines as possible which some Kingscliff residents were disappointed to see removed including Councillor Ron Cooper whilst others disagreed and identified Norfolk Pines as a non-native species.
An independent arborist assessment identified many of the Norfolk Island Pines in the holiday park were under stress and recommended their removal. Six Norfolk Pines and a number of smaller trees and shrubs were removed and the Holiday Park will be revegetated with locally-occurring native trees and shrubs.
The removal of the Norfolk Pines was also required to relocate the park entrance to the northern end of the park which will reduce the number of vans driving through the town centre.
Another structural change includes reducing the park size by a third, with the vacated land being used to create a new community space, Kingscliff Central Park.
The park will be a community asset in creating a common space for people to enjoy, that connects the town centre to the beach.
Supporting the community is something Mr Illingworth is extremely passionate about and as a result Tweed Coast Holiday Parks is contributing $7.5m to the funding of the Central Park.
“Kingscliff is a fantastic town with such a strong community. You can’t go wrong investing in great communities” Mr Illingworth said.
Road surfaces and concrete slabs within the Holiday Park will be reused to establish the new internal park roads which will reduce the amount going to landfill and reduce the number of trucks moving through the town centre. Possibly they may hire some machines from professional concrete grinding services to reuse the concrete pieces, but they don’t seem to have any plans to acquire new pieces of concrete.
Tweed Coast Holiday Parks will be using local suppliers where possible and the entire redevelopment project is expected to create more than 200 jobs during the project and post construction.
Profits from Tweed Coast Holiday Parks will be used for ongoing foreshore protection and restoration works.
The establishment of an on-site office is also currently underway which will offer the community the opportunity to engage and ask questions throughout the duration of the project.
