Employment Generating Lands
The TEDC since inception has promoted the need to develop Employment Generating Lands, Master Planned Business Parks and or Totally Integrated Master Planned Estates in Tweed Shire as part of the package of solutions necessary to deliver job generating economic sustainability in the Tweed.
History shows that in the past, land use planning in the Tweed has primarily focused on identifying and zoning residential land, and land for retail expansion in response to population demand, and in recognition of the need to accommodate future population growth projections. Similarly commercial land use zones have been restricted to the established business centres with the view to accommodating growth in the more traditional commercial forms of commercial activity such as accountants, solicitors, surveyors, architects and similar commercial service providers.
Employment generating land was restricted to industrial type uses and was zoned accordingly, and was usually located and separated from residential lands and suburbs or hard infrastructure such as roads etc.
Research suggests that perhaps it is time major land developers, planners, urban designers and policy makers reassess land zoning process in regional areas, and place a greater emphasis on sustainable job generating outcomes, rather than simply accommodating population growth by creating a house and land package, and attempt to replicate elements of complex town centre’s with high levels of landscape and amenity.
Tweed Shire Council has recently completed an Employment Generating Lands Strategy, which is intended to guide future employment land use decisions in the Tweed over the coming years, and is therefore a significant document with respect to the regions long term economic sustainability.
The TEDC in collaboration with TSC in 2009 conducted a research report - “Master Planning – An Approach to Employment Generating Land” which included options on master planned business parks and master planned estates. The report identified a number of options for developing an innovative, master planned, precinct planned strategy for the creation of a Work, Live and Play approach to attract job generating investment growth and attraction across a range of business and industry sectors.
This comprehensive report along with other extensive research conducted by TEDC is assisting in informing strategic planning policy at the local government level.
Other Employment Generating Lands projects undertaken by the TEDC include:
- The Coolangatta Airport Enterprise Park Feasibility Study March 2001 by SGS.
- Tweed Industry Audit 2003.
- Various research and reports to TSC on the potential of Murwillumbah Airfield Industrial estate 2005.
- The Tweed and Gold Coast Aviation Transport Hub Project, prepared by Giles Consulting 2006.
- The TEDC worked with private enterprises to facilitate the development of 50 hectares of employment-generating land “Industry Central” in Murwillumbah.
The TEDC is currently working with the private sector in developing concepts for the development of master planned estates in the Tweed.
These concepts are part of the strategy necessary to develop a broad and diverse, sustainable Tweed economy into the future with the ultimate success based on having the right vision, strategy, planning process, and infrastructure in place, and when combined with a proactive facilitating approach, will enable the Tweed to target and attract business and investment across a broad spectrum of business and industry sectors including commercial, industrial, education and health.
