Council approval granted for filming licence at Hastings Point

30 June 2017

Workshop to look at future management of filming process

Tweed Shire Council's Tweed Coast Reserves Trust resolved at an Extraordinary Meeting today to issue a temporary film licence to Warner Bros for the purpose of filming at Hastings Point.

The Trust also resolved to conduct a workshop subsequent to the film with Screen NSW invited to be involved as facilitator.

The workshop would involve local residents, community groups, Council staff, and interested councillors to develop a protocol for the future management of filming in the locality.

As part of the workshop, the owner of the local Marine Environment Centre will be invited to address the group on the significance of the rocky foreshore at Hastings Point.

Hastings Point residents Julie Boyd and Gary Thorpe spoke at today’s meeting along with Warner Bros Location Manager Duncan Jones.

Tweed Deputy Mayor Chris Cherry said there was much to learn from the process for all parties.

“We need to work with producers about what our expectations are and be very clear that we mean what we say when we tell them they need the community on side,” she said.

“I think this project is great for the community and will be a good thing, we just really need to make sure the community is considered and taken with us on this journey.

“We also need to respect the environment and that has been taken on board by the production company.

“I think the length of impact is one of the main concerns of the community, although the filming is only a couple of days, the impact is going to be six to eight weeks and we all need to make some compromises and be supportive now the decision has been made that it’s going to happen.”

Work at the Hastings Point site will begin in the next few weeks and, while the production will be for a period of approximately eight weeks, pedestrian access to the headland will not be impeded (apart from several full days of filming) and community members will still be able to access the majority of the site throughout the whale watching season.

The agenda and the minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Tweed Coast Reserves Trust will be available via www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/CouncilMeetings