THE BYRON SHIRE Volume 27 #18 Tuesday, October 9, 2012 Mullumbimby 02 6684 1777 Byron Bay 02 6685 5222 Fax 02 6684 1719 editor@echo.net.au adcopy@echo.net.au www.echo.net.au 23,200 copies every week
AUDIT
Tales from Gig Classies Hello Iraq’s Kitty devastating birth Slovenia guide – p37 – p18 – p26 – p19 defects – p6
Inside this week
PAGE 16
IT’S A PLANET NOT AN EMPIRE
CAB
Realtor Will Sorrell Q&A – p44
Byron Shire Council Notices Page 42
Dan Murphy’s Byron Flowers sampled at food festival bid denied by ILGA Luis Feliu & Hans Lovejoy
The Byron Bay community has won a David-and-Goliath battle against giant liquor retailer Dan Murphy’s after its liquor licence application for a shop in Byron Bay’s main street was rejected. The Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) said it could not ignore ‘prevailing exposure’ of the community to ‘alcohol-related harm and disturbance’ in considering the social impact of the outlet proposed by the Woolworths-owned liquor chain. Authority chairman Chris Sidoti said his decision upheld the need to minimise the harm associated with misuse and abuse of liquor. The licence application was the last hurdle for the retailer to establish a bottleshop in Jonson Street on the ground floor of the current Dendy Cinema building. Community leaders have welcomed the decision. Byron Shire mayor Simon Richardson said it was a massive win and the Authority had listened to the huge outcry by the community to yet another liquor outlet, while Byron youth worker Nicqui Yazdi said the decision and community campaign against a further alcohol retailer had set a good precedent and would help inspire other small communities to say ‘No’ to more alcohol outlets.
Right decision: MP Page Tweed-Byron police commander superintendent Stuart Wilkins said the Authority had heard and responded to police concerns on the issue ‘loud and clear’, but there was still more to do to address the problem. And state member for Ballina, Don Page said, ‘This is the right decision and I am pleased that the independent body has come to the same con-
clusion that police, the local community and myself all came to – that this is not the right location for another liquor outlet in Byron Bay. I made a submission to the Authority stating concerns that I shared with various sectors of the Byron community. The concerns included the proposed location in the CBD and the high rate of alcohol related assaults that have been occurring in Byron Bay,’ he said. ‘I note the crime statistics that the Authority relied on in coming to its decision, which are a major concern. ‘According to the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics the Byron LGA recorded almost four times as many alcohol-related non-domestic violence assaults as the statewide average. ‘That is 787.6 incidents per 100,000 persons compared to a statewide rate of 209.5. As I stated in my submission, I am not opposed to a Dan Murphy’s in Byron Bay, but I strongly believe that the CBD is not the right location for another liquor outlet. ‘Neither of the Dan Murphy’s outlets in Lismore or Ballina is located in the CBD and I believe the argument against it being located in the Byron CBD is even stronger,’ Mr Page said. President of Byron’s chamber of commerce, Byron United, also agreed that the location was not appropriate. Paul Waters, who is also on the board of the Byron Bay Liquor Accord, said, ‘Byron United has said all along this was not the right place for an alcohol outlet, and we were happy for it to be in the industrial estate, for example.’ The decision came after a public meeting last month, organised by the NSW Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing, heard overwhelming community concern against the plans. As reported in The Echo on September 11, arguments for the outlet
Not only were there superb gourmet creations at Saturday’s Sample Food Festival, Amelia Sehmidt found the edible marigolds and lavender irresistible. It was again a huge turnout for Bangalow, which showcased local growers, producers and chefs. Photo Jeff Dawson
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First Woolies, now two-storey flats Luis Feliu
Creeping over-development of Mullumbimby’s Station Street is what residents feared when they lost the battle to stop a Woolworths supermarket from being built there. Now just over a year since the supermarket was built, a controversial plan for a two-storey block of five flats, involving demolition of an old house, has many thinking a domino effect in development has started in earnest, putting the whole character of their street at risk. More than 100 residents fear it will continued on page 2 happen and have vowed to fight it,
signing a petition against the development. And Byron Shire planners agreed with residents that the proposed medium-density unit development of numbers 27–29 Station Street, opposite the new supermarket, is way too bulky and out of scale, which would destroy the street’s character and ruin neighbours’ privacy.
Bulky and out of scale But the new council last week voted to reject that advice and defer considering the plan to enable further talks with the developer to resolve concerns over bulk, scale and privacy.
The move by Cr Basil Cameron was backed by mayor Simon Richardson and Crs Sol Ibrahim, Rose Wanchap and Paul Spooner. The staff report on the plan is scathing of the design quality of the proposed building, saying it has ‘a single wall plane extending a length of 42.5 metres, which is bulky and austere in appearance’, and a height of almost nine metres. The views from each of the elevated balconies look straight down into neighbours’ homes and yards, which staff say is ‘a severe loss of privacy’. Resident Simone Ormsby, who continued on page 3
You are invited to the Grand opening of Byron’s World Peace Stupa with the Gyuto Monks on Saturday 27th October at 11.30am. Free entry for all, all day. After 3 years of vision, planning and construction this beautiful, sculptured Kalachakra Stupa is complete. Filled with the sacred relics and precious items from so many of you in our community, this stupa is dedicated to love and peace for all beings, to the Tibetan people and their quest for freedom.
The Gyuto Monks return for a rich and wonderful program – Thursday 18th to Sunday 28th October <echowebsection=Local News>
For more details go to
crystalcastle.com.au