TWEED Shire councillors who want a new police and emergency services headquarters for the shire have been sidelined by the State Government, which wants to put new police headquarters on the beachfront at Kingscliff.

Council staff who have received a development application for the new headquarters on the site of the current police station in Marine Pde, Kingscliff, say councillors will not get to vote on approval of the project.

Because it is valued at more than $5 million and is a government project they said the development application would go before appointed members of the Northern Joint Regional Panelling Panel, not elected councillors.

The move comes despite the NSW O'Farrell Government promising before the March election to return many development decisions to local councils.

Tweed mayor Kevin Skinner, who with other councillors wanted local MPs Geoff Provest and Thomas George to push for a new complex for police, fire and ambulance headquarters on a new site, said he would vote against the Kingscliff development if he had the chance.

Cr Skinner said he was “absolutely disappointed” by the push to rebuild on the existing Kingscliff site.

He said while a previously suggested site on Cudgen Rd required rezoning from agricultural protection, there “are other sites that haven't got that agricultural protection hold on them”.

“I don't believe the processes of finding an alternative site are going to be that slow,” he added. “If the police are hell-bent on rushing forward, I believe they may have missed a golden opportunity.”

Mr Provest, who last week was confident of police union support for the Cudgen Rd site, could not be reached for comment.

Late last week northern regional executive member of the NSW Police Association Tony King revealed police wanted a new station built “as soon as possible” and believed shelving plans to look at a new location would take a “ridiculous” length of time.

Tweed branch chairman of the police association Andrew Eppelstun warned although another proposed site on Cudgen Rd was preferred because it had better highway access, the likely delays in getting approval would be unacceptable.

The new headquarters are planned to accommodate the Tweed Byron Local Area Command, patrols servicing most of the Tweed, detectives, highway patrol and other specialists.