By Gi Linda.
 |
| Peter and Joan van Lieshout. |
Dutchman
Peter van Lieshout, with familial ties to Super A-Mart, is not one to
let controversy, adverse public opinion or the nuisance of Australian
development regulations stand in the way of his ideas.
Owner
of 3,000 acres in Nightcap Forest, near Mt Burrell, NSW, he aspires to
build a town where happy
“Nightcappers,” prospective inhabitants of
his village will hopefully live harmoniously with nature and
pay his land taxes.
Nightcap Village was proposed to
include 1,000 residents with 250 houses, 130 three storey units, a
100-bed backpacker, a 100-bed motel, 50 shops and a pub. The DA anticipated the village would generate an additional local 4,500 car movements a day.
Developed in 2006 by the
Vanlieshout Group, Nightcap Village was marketed as
"Zero Impact Living".
Before
submitting an application for development approval, an Environmental
Impact Study found the proposed village site to be located in pristine
forest, rich with rare and endangered species.
Undeterred,
van Lieshout built unapproved dams, permitted unapproved residences and
cleared an area for the proposed Nightcap Village without any prior
development consent.
News in 2006 of the intended
$137 million development
triggered loud complaints from outraged locals, strongly opposed to
the unwanted imposition of a potential urban eruption in the beautiful rural
valley.
When van Lieshout lodged a development
application for
Nightcap Village with Tweed Shire Council there was
massive opposition from local residents, spearheaded by environmental
defenders who actively protect the integrity of the Northern Rivers’
natural resources from indiscriminate developers and corporate greed.
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| Local protest against Nightcap Village, 2009 |
The
Caldera Residents Action Group,
CRAG, gathered over 600 handwritten
objections to the proposed Nightcap Village. When it came to a vote on
the DA, the Environmental Impact Statement listing endangered species
was not presented and a required aboriginal heritage study had not been
conducted.
Pete Symons, a local who studies the impact of
“geopathic stress” on land, claimed the proposed site of Nightcap Village is
“cursed” because of a massacre of Aboriginal people on that site, giving it a
“destructive and harmful energy signature”.
Widjabul Elders said the bodies of the massacred men, women and children were
“so
badly mutilated that distressed people who discovered the massacre lit
beacon fires all around Mt Warning, calling in the clans to perform
funeral rites and sing a curse into the land”.
Council received over 500 submissions
arguing against the proposed development. Several speakers complained
that council was serving developers rather than the people who elected
them.
Peter van Lieshout’s wife, aspiring co-developer
Joan van Lieshout, just happened to be Mayor of Tweed Shire at the
time. She abstained from voting to avoid appearance of conflict of
interest. Only two councilors, Katie Milne and Barry Longland, voted
against the development.
The proposed village sounded an alarm in local papers with Tweed Daily News Aug 2007 reporting
Nightmare 'Nightcap' Development Approved in Tweed Shire:
“On
announcement of the vote in favour of the DA, the gallery broke into a
near brawl, as residents yelled at the top of their voices their extreme
anger and disappointment.”
At a subsequent Land and Environment Court hearing 100 people objected
to the proposal with only one in favour. Even so, the Commissioner
approved the development.
Despite
Peter van Lieshout's aggressive push for development consent in
contempt of overwhelming local opposition, he found the cost of required
infrastructure impossible to meet. The plans did not proceed and
development consent lapsed in 2011.
The "Intentional Community" called "Bhula Bhula" was established without development approval on environmentally
protected land where multiple occupancy was prohibited.
 |
| Bhula Bhula Community marketing ad, 2015 |
After falsely promising potential investors co-ownership
of the land, the controllers purchased the 640 acre property through a private
company. The company director acquired legal ownership of the asset in his
personal right as company director and sole shareholder with a single
share value $1.
Defrauded
investors who called for accountability woke up to a nightmare of
litigation, threats, bullying and stalking as they were forcibly evicted
from the property without restitution of their funds.
Undeterred
by the carnage of broken dreams, shattered families and empty bank
accounts left in the wake of their failed venture, and ever aspiring to
greater visions, (names removed) made a deal in early 2016 with neighbour Peter van Lieshout to
expand their initiative onto his property.
"Mount Warning Eco Village"
was set up and by 2017 a move was in place to transfer legal title of
the land paid for by the defrauded investors to the new company. The
attempted pre-positioned asset sale as an ongoing phoenix move is being facilitated
through liquidation by Vincents Chartered Accountants.
In November 2017,
"Mount Warning Eco Village", the new name for the
"Village Community" scheme, was switched to
“Nightcap Village” and promoted by celebrity
“Ambassador” Tyler Tolman.
The
aspiring developers of
Nightcap Village prefer to occult their nexus as
cabos of the dishonorable sovereignty cult that defrauded
investors of over $1.5 million by offering
"ethical investments" in a land-share scam!
Their first attempted
“village community” failed,
causing immeasurable hurt and harm to those who ingenuously trusted the
deceptive blue-eyed sales pitch.
Nightcap Village website now advertises:
"...an exciting project underway to build an entire eco friendly, sustainable village on a 3500+ acre site at the foot of Mt Warning..."
It's
an attractive vision given a veneer of credibility with a gloss of celebrity,
but with local outrage re-emerging it becomes increasingly evident that
the new promises are the same as the old promises as
"Nightcap Village Nightmare" revives.
Buyer Beware!
