Tweed Shire Council voted to reject an application by Nightcap Village Enterprises for approval to initiate the first stage of a prospective development involving multiple rural land sharing communities.
A report before Council recommended that the application be refused, because of significant adverse social and environmental impacts.
An earlier Nightcap DA application was refused by Council on September 17, 2020, and an LEP determined that no further land sharing developments would be approved in the Tweed Valley. Even so, the developers filed a second DA application in January 2021, that, in stage 1, seeks approval for the upgrade of an existing private road with vegetation removal and construction of a site office and storage area. See Nightcap Village Concept Plan.
Councillors voted unanimously to refer the DA application to the Northern Regional Planning Panel.
Mayor Chris Cherry said that the Nightcap concept, which proposes an intentional community with 392 owners separately responsible, is not an appropriate development for that site, and failed to meet the requirements of both Council and the NRPP.
She said that if the Northern Regional Planning Panel decides the application does not fall within their jurisdiction, the application will return to Council for a decision and will be "refused on merit".
