Human blockade at Tweed Valley Hospital stops work on day one by six hours

HUMAN blockade at Tweed Valley Hospital stops work on day one by six hours.

ABOUT 130 protesters were moved on by police for blocking workers from entering the proposed Tweed Valley Hospital site this morning.

The protesters stopped work on the Cudgen farm from 7am NSW time to 1pm.

Tweed Green Mayor Katie Milne was one of those protesting, holding a sign that read “Premier Gladys you need to LISTEN”.

Once the last protester was moved on, temporary fencing contractors rolled onto the land which was previous a sweet potato farm.

Tweed Mayor Katie Milne was one of about 130 protesters at the site for the $534 million Tweed Valley Hospital.

The community has been divided over the proposed site since it was announced in April.

Many argue the site is the wrong choice for the hospital because it is on State Significant Farmland and too close to Kingscliff.

Save Cudgen Farmland leader Hayley Paddon said her group was meeting with an activist this afternoon to plan the next move.

“We held them off for as long as we could,” she said.

“We will be trying to do this again and do anything to make the government find another site.”

Northern Rivers Greens campaign co-ordinator and candidate for Lismore Sue Higginson said Nationals MP for Tweed Geoff Provest should stop ignoring farmers and the community.

“Today Farmers are blockading the proposed site for the new Tweed Hospital. The Farmers and community are begging the State Government to develop the much needed hospital somewhere else,” she said.

Protesters blocked the site for the $534 million Tweed Valley Hospital this morning until police moved them along.

“They have formed a human blockade at the site and are determined to protect this farmland from inappropriate development.

“It is hard to believe that the member for Tweed is not putting his head down to work out a reasonable resolution to this land use conflict.

“It is not good planning to take State Significant Farmland out of the food production system.”

Mr Provest released a statement two hours after the protest finished and it didn’t mention the blockade.

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He said it was a major milestone that the preliminary works had started.

“The start of preliminary works is evidence of the NSW Government’s commitment to delivering this state-of-the-art major referral hospital to meet the urgent health needs of the Tweed Byron community and the growing demand for these services,” Mr Provest said.

“The immediate task is to ensure appropriate environmental control measures are in place and complete the balance of the geotechnical drilling that was not possible while farming operations were underway.

“These works will enable critical path design activities to continue and provide an immediate benefit to the environmental area that is being preserved along the northern boundary of the project site.”