A mass 'paddle-out' and protest rally will be held to demonstrate community sentiment regarding plans to redevelop Killalea State Park.
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Meanwhile, a week of community engagement is also scheduled, whereby residents can have their say on the proposal.
In 2019, Kiama MP Gareth Ward announced that the NSW Government had awarded a $6.5 million grant to upgrade the site, run by the Reflections Holiday Parks group which will invest $4.4 million into the project.
As well as 15 eco-luxury cabins and a function centre, the $10 million redevelopment would include 53 fully-serviced campsites, a new playground, walking trails and outdoor recreational equipment.
Reflections hosted initial community engagement meetings on the Killalea proposal via Zoom in March.
Now, in person community and stakeholder meetings will take place from April 27 to 30, with a community day set for Saturday, May 1.
The community can register their attendance for the weekday sessions at https://reflections.engagementhub.com.au.
For those not able to make a session during the week, Reflections will be at Killalea Reserve between 10am and 3pm on Saturday, May 1.
In response, Richard Berndt, who runs the 'Save The Farm, no tourist development for Killalea State Park' group on Facebook, said there were community events planned.
He said while Reflections' 'community drop-in information session' took place near the kiosk at Killalea on Saturday, May 1 at 10am the Killalea National Surfing Reserve committee will host a 'paddle-out' at the same time, "to show Reflections the depth of feeling against them and their development plans".
"In support of the surfers, the Save Killalea Alliance will hold a mass protest rally at 11am, following the paddle out," he said.
"This is the day we all need to come together as it might be our last chance to do so before the bulldozers roll in."
In email correspondence to those who had provided feedback so far, Reflections Holiday Parks' acting CEO Cameron Tynan said the proposal has included some elements which have attracted concern and opposition.
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"In particular, the proposed multi-function community centre which may incorporate a 200-seat function centre, has received the most amount of feedback," he said.
"During the community consultation, the Reflections team advised the community that no development approval has been obtained and that only investigation and survey work, on the alternate access road, has commenced."
According to Reflections, feedback from the community to date includes concerns about the scale and nature of the function centre in terms of built form, activities, and location; the use of Killalea as primarily a day-visit park, with primitive camping appealing to a small minority of visitors whose primary purpose is to surf; existing pressures of traffic and vehicle impacts on the local road networks and residential precinct; and Anxiety about the long-term future of the park.
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