So often the images we see from flooded townships are residents dealing with ruined household goods and families trying to find new places to call home. Another part of this story is the devastation that floods bring for small business, especially long-standing family businesses that have been part of the fabric of the town for decades.
These impacts were deeply felt when the 2017 floods hit South Murwillumbah. The water did not come from the Tweed River. It came up through the cane fields at the bottom of Buchanan Street. For the businesses that lined the industrial precinct, it was a flood they had not seen before, and damage they had not prepared for. For some, it felt unsurvivable.
Five years later, the 2022 floods came again. Deeper this time. At Hayes Steel, 430mm higher than 2017. At the Williams Group truss plant, 2.4 metres of water. At Council's Buchanan Street depot, 1.8 metres, with fuel tanks contaminated and vehicles lost.
The question that followed was not just how to rebuild, but where.
Industry Central, on flood-free land above the South Murwillumbah industrial area, is the answer the Tweed chose. An unprecedented land swap, the first of its kind in Australia, has moved 5 businesses and Council's entire works depot to higher ground, repaid more than $11 million to the NSW Government, and effectively paid for itself. This is the final chapter in the Facing the River series, and the one that answers what the whole series has been building toward: what does it look like when a community doesn't just rebuild, but chooses a fundamentally different future?
When the next flood warning goes out across the Tweed, Council's depot will be dry, its fleet ready, and its people focused on the community.
That is what this series has always been about. Not the buildings. The people inside them.
Seven weeks, 7 chapters, one community. The Tweed didn't just rebuild. It chose a different future.
"This project demonstrates what deliberate and strategic thinking looks like in practice. We identified a problem, we found an unconventional solution, and we committed to it through COVID, through the 2022 floods, through inflation and through a development process that took years. The result is a precinct that gives Murwillumbah businesses a future, a depot that will serve this community in its next emergency, and a financial outcome that required nothing from ratepayers. We can serve our community better tomorrow than we can today."
Troy Green, General Manager, Tweed Shire Council
Aerial image of the new Murwillumbah Depot.
INDUSTRY CENTRAL AT A GLANCE
$11m+
repaid to NSW Government, project self-funded
14.02ha
flood-free industrial land acquired
$34m+
new works depot, land at no cost to ratepayers
19%
industrial land value rise, NSW Valuer General
Funding: NSW Government Climate Change Adaptation Fund ($3m land acquisition) plus NSW Government subdivision infrastructure funding
Awards: 2019 Resilient Australia Award, NSW Local Government · 2026 Floodplain Management Australia Excellence Award finalist, Flood Risk Project of the Year
What it cost to stay
For Jenny Hayes, the decision to stay was never really a decision. Hayes Steel had been in Buchanan Street for decades. When the 2017 floods hit, the water rose above the front steps for the first time anyone could remember. When it receded, Jenny and her team put on their mud boots and got to work.
"To say we were devastated to see the photos of the height of the water from our neighbours on the Friday morning would be an understatement. Once the water receded and we gained access, the full extent of our loss was apparent and we thought the business would not recover. We had no choice but to pull on the mud boots and get to work. Twenty-two families were dependent on us for their livelihood. We had to carry on. To relive it all again in 2022 was nearly more than we could endure. The water level was a full 430mm higher than 2017. Our staff and helpers worked around the clock for months, some of whom were battling their own devastation at home. The Tweed Shire Council Land Swap Initiative has been such a boost. It has provided us the opportunity to thrive in a new flood-free environment and continue to grow, expand and operate in Murwillumbah."
Jenny Hayes, Office Manager, Hayes Steel
At the Williams Group, a Murwillumbah institution founded in 1935 and one of the region's largest employers, the calculation was the same. The floods had covered machinery, destroyed stock and threatened the manufacturing capacity that kept an entire workforce employed. The land swap offered something the floods could not take away: ground that stays dry.
"We did not want our staff to have to endure another event like this. The new purpose-built facility will enable us to relocate some of our operations, resulting in better efficiencies and more employment. The staff are very excited about the move to a big, bright and new facility. It is a great outcome for our company and a great triumph for the Tweed Shire Council team."
Lyndon Poirrier, General Manager, Williams Group
Local businesses under floodwater in South Murwillumbah, February 2022.
An Australian first
Troy Green, Council's General Manager, knew after the 2017 floods that South Murwillumbah's industrial precinct would flood again. Council's Economic Development staff walked the streets asking businesses whether they would swap flood-prone land for higher ground. The response was overwhelming.
Armed with that evidence, Mr Green lobbied the NSW Government for 5 months, coming close to giving up, before securing $3 million from the NSW Climate Change Adaptation Fund to acquire 14.02 hectares of flood-free land at Industry Central. He then sat down with then Deputy Premier John Barilaro, MP Thomas George and MP Geoff Provest to design the concept for the swap.
"It took 5 months of lobbying. I was on the verge of giving up when I got a phone call saying: you've got the money. The funding came from the NSW Climate Change Adaptation Fund and it was enough to acquire the 14 hectares we needed."
Troy Green, General Manager, Tweed Shire Council
As far as anyone was aware, an industrial land swap of this scale had never been done in Australia. Ray Musgrave, Council's Project Team Leader, assembled a team and built the methodology from scratch, managing complex legal, financial, governance, engineering and property development challenges across 8 years and 2 major flood events.
An Expression of Interest process was issued to flood-affected businesses. Five made it through a rigorous selection and independent financial assessment process. Then COVID hit. Then the 2022 floods arrived mid-process. Inflation doubled construction costs. Only the most determined businesses stayed the course.
A depot built above the flood line
Council's Buchanan Street depot was flooded in both 2017 and 2022. In 2017, 1.2 metres of water caused $9 to $10 million in damage to vehicles, equipment, the mechanical workshop, stores, sign shop and administration building, and put fuel offline for 8 months. Around 30 per cent of Council's fleet was affected. In 2022, the water reached 1.8 metres.
The new Murwillumbah Depot at Industry Central, valued at more than $34 million, sits above the highest recorded flood levels. Construction commenced in March 2025 and was completed at the end of June 2026. It includes 2 industrial workshops, expanded stores, bulk on-site materials storage, an open-plan administration building, 130 car parking spaces, solar systems, stormwater treatment and EV charging stations.
In future floods, when suppliers along Tweed Valley Way are inundated, Council's fuel supply and fleet will be operational on higher ground, ready to respond from the first day.
A project that paid for itself
With the 5 land swap lots allocated and subdivision infrastructure complete, 4 unallocated lots remained. Sold by public auction in August 2025, and assisted by a 19 per cent rise in industrial land values over the past year according to the NSW Valuer General, the lots generated approximately $11.3 million after costs. That was sufficient to repay the NSW Government's earlier funding in full.
No ratepayer revenue was required. A project seeded by government grant has effectively paid for itself and delivered land for a $34 million community asset at no cost to ratepayers. South Murwillumbah now has 5 fewer businesses in the flood corridor, a Council depot on higher ground, and a financial outcome that demonstrates what the right investment at the right time can deliver for a regional community.
What comes next
Industry Central is the foundation of a broader strategy for flood-free employment land in Murwillumbah. The Quarry Road industrial subdivision, a 32-lot development in partnership with Inca Pty Ltd, will provide flood-free industrial land with title creation expected in early 2026. Further east, PEL Area 6, a 60-hectare site adjoining Industry Central, is the subject of a planning proposal that, if approved, will provide a 20-year supply of employment land for the region.
Proceeds from Council-owned land sales at both sites will be directed to a Housing Future Fund to secure diverse housing options across the Shire. Economic development and housing affordability, addressed through the same strategic decision.
The Industry Central Land Swap was recognised with the 2019 Resilient Australia Award in the NSW Local Government category and is a finalist in the 2026 Floodplain Management Australia Excellence Awards for Flood Risk Project of the Year.
This is where the Facing the River series ends — not with a road repaired or a park reopened, but with a town that has moved its most vulnerable businesses to higher ground, secured its emergency response capability and returned every dollar of government investment.
Tweed Shire Council's fleet on high ground at the new Murwillumbah Depot – ready to respond, not recover, when the next flood comes.
KEY FACTS
Land acquired: 14.02 hectares, flood-free industrial land, Industry Central, Lundberg Drive, South Murwillumbah
Initial funding: $3 million, NSW Government Climate Change Adaptation Fund, land acquisition
Subdivision infrastructure: NSW Government grant funding, Alder Constructions, completed September 2024
Title created: Early 2025
Businesses relocated: 5 businesses via EOI, from flood-prone South Murwillumbah to Industry Central
New depot: More than $34 million, land secured at no cost to ratepayers, completed at end of June 2026
Depot: 2 workshops, expanded stores, bulk materials storage, 130 car spaces, solar, EV charging, above highest flood levels
Lot auction: 4 unallocated lots, public auction August 2025, approximately $11.3 million raised after costs
NSW Government repaid: More than $11 million in full, no ratepayer funds used
Land value increase: 19 per cent rise past year, NSW Valuer General
Awards: 2019 Resilient Australia Award NSW Local Government · 2026 FMA Excellence Award finalist, Flood Risk Project of the Year
ABOUT THE FACING THE RIVER SERIES
This release is part of Tweed Shire Council's seven-week flood resilience media series, Facing the River, running 19 June to 28 July 2026. Each chapter tells a different dimension of the Tweed's recovery story, across civic space, sport and wellbeing, community hubs, infrastructure, neighbourhood liveability, the natural environment and the relocation of flood-affected businesses to higher ground. Full series information at tweed.nsw.gov.au
Week 1 — Civic Heart: 19 June, 10 am
Week 2 — Sport and Wellbeing: 25 June, 10 am
Week 3 — Community Hubs: 2 July, 9:30 am
Week 4 — Infrastructure and Connectivity: 9 July, 10:30 am
Week 5 — Neighbourhood Liveability: 17 July, 10 am
Week 6 — Working with Nature: 23 July, 10 am
Week 7 — Trading Turbulent Waters for Solid Ground: 28 July, 10 am
Downloads
Photo 1:The old Buchanan Street depot in the 2022 flood,
Caption: The old Buchanan Street depot in the 2022 flood, and its replacement at Industry Central – built above the floodplain and opened July 2026.
Photo 2: Aerial image of the new Murwillumbah Depot.
Caption: Aerial image of the new Murwillumbah Depot.
Photo 3: Local businesses under floodwater.
Caption: Local businesses under floodwater in South Murwillumbah, February 2022.
Photo 4: Tweed Shire Council's fleet on high ground
Caption: Tweed Shire Council's fleet on high ground at the new Murwillumbah Depot – ready to respond, not recover, when the next flood comes.
Connection to Council's Community Strategic Plan:
