Marine rescue to find new home
A TWEED River rescue squad may be scaled back if a new training facility cannot be found in the next year.
At a Tweed Shire Council meeting on Tuesday councillors voted to give Marine Rescue Point Danger a lease until June 31 at the Coral St training centre and inform NSW Maritime that it needed to find a new home.
In a letter to council received in March, the Department of Primary Industries Catchments and Lands stated it planned to seek expressions of interest in late 2012 to redevelop the land into a "commercial functions centre."
A Tweed Shire Council audit of the property found it needed up to $200,000 in urgent repairs.
Marine Rescue Point Danger commander Bernie Gabriel said the lands department had wanted the rescue unit to relocate.
"For us to be moved out of there without some good alternative it will impact on the amount of free service we can provide," Mr Gabriel said.
"To train people you have to have premises and good premises."
Mr Gabriel said a substandard training facility would turn volunteers away.
