DEAR News of the Area,

FOR most of the last 30 years, anyone using Jetty Beach couldn’t buy a drink or an ice cream and couldn’t find a toilet, and this was in a major tourist town!

When the development of the north end of the beach was proposed a few years ago, there was still opposition to it.

Now it’s never been more popular.

Surely our city is mature enough to have a reasonable discussion about how to create some decent facilities on the foreshores, rather than rushing to oppose anything much happening.

The Government isn’t going to give the land to Council and Council doesn’t have the money to fund any significant community facilities.

Obviously, the State Government wants to cover the cost of providing upgraded public facilities by selling some of its land west of Jordan Esplanade.

Clearly the biggest returns would come from selling to developers of residential units. Permanent residential accommodation is clearly opposed by many locals, but there appears to be less concern about tourist accommodation.

Perhaps there is room for compromise by building some short-term tourist accommodation plus tourist-oriented retail developments and some restaurants and bars west of Jordan Esplanade.

If these development options won’t produce the high returns of residential unit sites to the Government, the community accepts a scaled down level of open space community facilities built east of the road.

Instead of opposing any significant development on the foreshores, let’s look at negotiating a compromise master plan, which reasonable people on both sides can live with.

Paul MCKEON,
Coffs Harbour.