Who would have thought that a foreshore pummelling would end up leading to something as wonderful as a new central park at Kingscliff? As it turns out, the storm events - which kick-started the process - led council and community to put something into place that is much, much better than what was there previously. And on so many levels.
Ian Bentley is the Tweed Shire Council landscape architect that worked to pull it together. Originally a horticulturalist from the north of England, he gained his LA qualifications here in Australia before working for a bespoke firm dealing with high-end private landscapes. He then stepped into the world of public landscapes, working for Mackay Regional Council before moving to Tweed roughly ten years ago. In short, he understands the big picture and has an eye for the detail.Less
“We were looking at the area which sits between the surf club and the bowls club, which was previously the foreshore caravan park. There have been a number of really severe storms over a few years and we’ve lost 50 metres of heavily vegetat, dunal planting.”
This ingress had taken out Kingscliff’s distinctive and well-established Norfolk Island pines and some of the caravan parks’ cabins had needed to be craned to safer sites. As things stood, the town’s main hub which sat across the road and facing the sea was exposed to future storm events. Any solution would need to provide future protection, but clearly here was an opportunity to provide so much more than a wall between land and sea.
“Once we had the Federal funding (2015) we worked fast. Using an existing 2007 master plan created before my time, we leased a shop in Marine Parade for eight weeks to consult with the community. With that feedback we drew, reviewed and amended the masterplan to reflect both the feedback and the new conditions. The project was tendered once the community where happy with the final design, then we played a role in the project’s supervision as it was being built over a 14 month period.
Ian makes it sound easy, and to be fair, there were no major hiccups along the way. But no project is easy. “We provide detailed documentation, that way there is no room for assumptions: problems tend to arise when you are vague. We’d meet with the site supervisor three times a week to help interpret the details of the design. It’s something I carry from my years previously in private practice. The result is worth it.”
Analysing the new landscape and all the elements within it, it’s obvious why these site meetings were necessary. There is a lot going on here that needed careful supervision to get just right. Take the main barrier works for example. To minimise damage from storm events in years to come, the seven metre high barrier wall has been designed and engineered to withstand the force of the waves, but at the same time encourage people onto the beach. Where the caravan park was once in the way, now that it has been moved to one side, anyone walking down the main street can easily drift across the new central park and wander down onto the beach on a whim.
With that main box ticked, Ian and his team then designed in the details inspired by the community consultation. “It was a simple brief. People wanted a village feel with space for formal events as well as informal activities – to kick a ball and have a barbeque. Council is kick starting the program of formal events with opera in the park, an outdoor cinema and a market but the community will soon take over.” As for the other deft touches, they’re already being appreciated. The shade structures, the options for sitting with a take-away coffee (at a breakfast style bar or in the shade), any number of seats where you can chat to someone or happily lounge while people-watching. And all has been thought through from a longevity and maintenance view-point so that durable materials prevail. Even as the constructions fencing was being removed, the community was connected with the space, not only through the consultative process during its design, but through Ian’s deft but light touch: key Kingscliff-centric words etched into the beach steps; the community’s chosen 13 word description of what locals like about their town, marked into the paving.
Yes, it’s a successful project for all these reasons. “We could design to the lowest common denominator, but I try to push the boundaries. If you use imagination and think about the detail, people will enjoy the result. It’s a case of, I don’t know why I like being here but I just do.”
Stormwater Solution
