Nightcap Village Nightmare Revived

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.

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!