Northcliffe Timber Mill Cluster

The Northcliffe community wished to pursue the development of a cluster mill at the former site of the Bunnings Mill site. This was to incorporate existing facilities and resource sharing with other sawmillers in Northcliffe. This proposal was aimed at maximizing the value of timber processing in Northcliffe, and to fully utilise the existing infrastructure.

The development included the potential subdivision of 34 mill houses and addressed servicing requirements, costs and buffer issues.

The proposal aimed to minimize costs for existing Northcliffe sawmillers, by capitalizing on shared facilities and common interests, to retain mill employees in Northcliffe in the wake of any redundancies resulting from the RFA, to promote associated tourism opportunities, and tomaximise the opportunities to Northcliffe by utilising houses which remain in the Northcliffe “mill town”.

TME was engaged to investigate the feasibility of the cluster proposal as a whole and an identification of critical issues for each proposed participant. This feasibility required the preparation of the layout design of the facility, examination of relevant local and state by-laws, the requirements of the current owners of the site, and advice on future issues and communications requirements. The study recommended the appropriate steps towards design, funding and management of the Cluster.

This was a complex proposal that required detailed negotiation with the various sawmillers and service agencies. TME needed the ability to bring together diverse issues in a practical manner that could be understood by the participants.