An awakening to the value of scenic landscapes

The value of the region’s scenic amenity was recognised by Council in 1995 when it commissioned Catherine Brouwer Architects to prepare the ‘Tweed Scenic Landscape Evaluation’.

That was a first step towards identifying the unique nature of these landscapes and ensuring their protection for future generations.

It was a pioneering document at the time, presenting a wealth of valuable information and highlighting the importance of the Tweed's scenic landscapes.

However, it was not easily translated into practical application through local land use planning processes and is now outdated.

In 2004, the former NSW Department of Planning developed a Visual Management System (VMS) for the NSW coast, as part of its Comprehensive Coastal Assessment initiative.

The VMS sought to establish a methodology to characterise and assess the visual resources of the NSW coast, to help protect and effectively manage of scenic amenity. The State-wide document concluded with a pilot study of Tweed Shire’s coastal zone to demonstrate how the assessment methodology could be applied.