New policy to end Rural Land Sharing Communities makes exception for Pete Evans’ Nightcap Village

A new proposed policy would see an end to Rural Land Sharing Communities, but the controversial Nightcap Village has been exempt from the policy. This is why.

A new policy proposed by the Tweed Shire Council to ban future Rural Land Sharing Communities has made exception to Pete Evans’ proposed Nightcap on Minjungbul community.

A new policy proposed by the Tweed Shire Council would see an end to Rural Land Sharing Communities, but the controversial Nightcap Village has been exempt from the proposal.

A council spokesman said the new planning proposal sought to protect the rights of existing legal Rural Land Sharing Communities but prohibit any future developments of this type.

“The objective of planning proposal PP21/0001, is to make any further Rural Land Sharing Communities a prohibited land use in the Tweed Shire,” he said.

“This will be achieved by removing the reference to Tweed’s local environmental plans from the State Environmental Planning Policy (Primary Production and Rural Development) 2019.

“If adopted this would prohibit RLSC, or Multiple Occupancies (MO), in the Tweed.”

A development application proposing early works, related to a planned "intentional community" in the Mount Burrell and Kunghur area, has been lodged with Tweed Shire Council. This image indicates the site where Stage 1 works to upgrade a road access are proposed.

An RLSC or MO refers to rural properties where “common areas” are shared by more than one household established through arrangements such as trusts, cooperatives, shareholdings and partnerships.

The history of RLSCs shows that they were traditionally formed by like-minded people who sought to share common interests in a communal living habit, with well-defined communal areas, and facilities.

There are about 13 lawful RLSCs and MOs within the Tweed.

The council spokesman said while the demand for these communities was not high, more recent ones were increasingly taking a significantly larger form and scale, more akin to large lot residential development, and in areas where subdivision and additional housing may not currently be permitted.

“Additionally, they are increasingly spanning over multiple lots, rather than a single lot,” the council spokesman said.

One example of this is the controversial $37 million Nightcap Village that has been spruiked by celebrity chef Pete Evans who was recently fined by the TGA for breaching advertising regulations by promoting a “BioCharger” device, hyperbaric oxygen therapy chambers and two oral medicines.

A development application proposing early works, related to a planned "intentional community" in the Mount Burrell and Kunghur area.

Part of the DPIE requirements for the Rural Land Sharing Community policy consultation was specifying the development application not be included in the policy, however the opportunity exists for the council to seek an amendment should circumstances relating to these matters change.

The application for stage 1 approvals is before the Tweed Shire Council and includes the upgrade of an existing private road and associated earthworks, vegetation removal and site construction office and storage area.

Included with the DA is a draft shareholder agreement which states the aim of the proposal is to create “interconnected communities of like-minded individuals where knowledge and resources are shared”.

The Rural Land Sharing Communities policy is on public exhibition until June 30. To view the full report click here.