TWEED Shire Council's draft Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Management Plan has raised concerns for some Terranora residents who fear the value of their land could be impacted.

The shire-wide planning policy, which is currently on public exhibition, was prepared to protect Tweed's Aboriginal cultural heritage by identifying specific landscape locations that potentially holds significant cultural importance.

The council has been working alongside the Tweed Byron Local Aboriginal Land Council to create a framework for assessing areas of cultural heritage during the development application process.

But Friends of Terranora president Greg Burgis said the amount of authority being given to the Land Council could be an issue in the future if an owner of a property identified in the ACHMP wanted to submit a development application.

He said there was a "discriminatory blight” on about 150 Terranora properties identified in the plan.

"We're questioning whether it's realistic and fair for these particular 150 properties to be included.”

Mr Burgis said the plan would mean any application involving a property identified by the ACHMP would have to be assessed for any cultural impact at a cost to the applicant by the Land Council before it could be approved.

"It's not a transparent process, the ACHMP are not accountable, they don't need to explain or justify their decision,” he said.

"Under the plan they're able to argue under a cultural perspective without question. It's really hypothetical. You can't question the reality of the cultural connection or its importance. You've got no argument.”

The council's acting planning director Iain Lonsdale said the ACHMP was more of a tool to help Tweed residents when building, explaining the NSW Government legislation states any damage to any significant tangible or intangible site would result in severe repercussions.

"What we're trying to do is make it more simple to understand (the legislations), how it works and who you should talk to.” he said.

"The legislation won't tell you anything about that and it's a minefield to understand. The plan isn't necessarily saying that there's something on that property. We've done the due diligence for them.”

He believed the Land Council's relationship with the council for the past 20 years proved they were willing to work closely with involved parties to ensure the best outcome for all involved.

Public submissions to the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Management Plan will close on Friday, January 19.

For more information about the ACHMP and community workshops, visit www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/onexhibition