FAQs

Council's community and cultural facilities are at different stages of planning, design and delivery. The Community Infrastructure Framework outlines Council's planning methodology and is a tool for coordinating these diverse activities across our community and cultural facilities network and ensuring Council has the information required to make good investment and management decisions.

The Framework supports a network approach, which means considering how facilities can be designed, located and managed to contribute to the full complement of community facilities and spaces required across Tweed Shire (rather than just operating as individual facilities).

Development and adoption by Council of a Community Infrastructure Framework is the first stage in the Community Infrastructure Planning Work Program.

Using the Framework, a Shire-wide Community and Cultural Facilities Network Plan will be developed (commencing in early 2015), which will explore population and demographic trends, audit current facilities, identify needs and opportunities and explore site, funding and delivery options, among other things. 

Requirements for local, district and regional facilities will be considered when Council commences work on a Shire-wide Community and Cultural Facilities Network Plan in early 2015.  Scheduling of delivery projects for individual facilities will be informed by needs across the network and within Tweed Shire's local and district catchments, and will be subject to funding options.

Local and district catchment areas for analysis of community infrastructure requirements are listed in Section 7.1 in the draft Community Infrastructure Framework.  

The Framework also provides guidance on how Council will engage with communities and stakeholders at different stages in the network planning and delivery cycle (see engagement planner in Section 6).

Note: Planning for some community facilities is already underway. Analysis of options for these facilities is being informed by the draft Community Infrastructure Framework and will be presented to Council for consideration in separate reports. The first of these will be a report on proposed interim improvements to the Tweed Heads Civic and Cultural Centre, including expanding the Tweed Heads Branch Library.

The draft Community Infrastructure Framework is focused on the types of general community and cultural facilities listed in Section 4 of the document.

Education and health facilities are generally provided by other agencies in the State and Commonwealth Governments and the community and private sectors, however in some cases, community-based outreach services are delivered from within Council's community facilities.  While Council does provide some related support programs through Tweed Community Options, those services are not specifically part of the Community Infrastructure Framework.

Sport and recreation facilities are considered in Council's Regional Sports and Recreation Facility Plan. Existing and potential links between Council's community and cultural facilities network and sport, recreation and other associated facilities/spaces will be considered in the proposed Community and Cultural Facilities Network Plan commencing in early 2015.

Generally, Council funds delivery of community and cultural facilities using development contributions, general revenue and borrowings. 

Development contributions are collected via the contributions plans established under Section 94 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, 1979.  Contribution plans are updated from time to time to reflect demand attributed to the growing population associated with new development.

The draft Community Infrastructure Framework identifies a variety of funding mechanisms including mixed-use development partnerships and leasing space in Council facilities for commercial activity.

Suitability of funding options may vary depending on the purpose, location and scale of individual facilities.