THE BYRON SHIRE
l o o h c S
Volume 32 #04
holidays
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
www.echo.net.au Phone 02 6684 1777 editor@echo.net.au adcopy@echo.net.au 23,200 copies every week
D I S C R E D I T E D WAY B E F O R E I T WA S FA S H I O N A B L E
Mad monk runs amok The potholes Writers Fest What’s on? Check the without a diaper or a that ate weekly wrap best gig guide for leash – p10 Byron – p5 – p17 the north coast – p44
p23-25
Online in netdaily Fracking for GST revenue push angers region’s farmers www.echo.net.au/fracking-gstrevenue-push-angers-regions-farmers
Burnside and activists fill Mullum hall West Byron not in the
public interest: staff
Mullum Civic Hall was packed to capacity on Saturday to hear Julian Burnside QC give the Ralph Summy Annual Lecture and award activist of the year to Adrian Burragubba and Murrawah Johnson. Burnside spoke of the small incremental advances in human rights throughout history while Adrian and Murrawah were given a standing ovation. The night was hosted by the Ngara Institute with MC Sally Packshaw. Photo Jeff Dawson
Council’s big road budget features bypass Cr Paul Spooner (Country Labor) says that Council are ‘counting its chickens before they hatch,’ over the inclusion of the Byron’s Butler Street bypass within its operational and capital works budget. Council’s press release on Friday claims that of the $115m earmarked, $54m will be ‘spent on capital works and roads programs; this includes the Byron Bay town centre bypass at an estimated cost of $20m.’ Staff later clarified with The Echo that Council intended to contribute $4m to the project. The $20m figure appears to rely on a $10.5m promise when former MP Don Page retired in 2014, as well as a further $5.5m from yet-tobe-approved government grants to
make up the bypass cost shortfall. If the grants are not provided by the state government for the bypass – $16m in total – Council would be left with a significant shortfall to complete the bypass. Cr Spooner told The Echo, ‘Council does not have the funds available to complete the bypass. Council should not be seeking to fund the shortfall in a $20 million project for the Byron Bay bypass from ratepayer funds. ‘Funding for the bypass should be coming from the state government. It was the state government that approved the West Byron development. It is the state government that will be the cause of escalating the traffic congestion into Byron Bay for years
to come. At the moment the Butler Street bypass is a road going nowhere while the rail corridor land through Byron Bay continues to grow weeds.’ Apart from the bypass, Council’s capital projects in the coming financial year include the Bayshore and Ewingsdale Roundabout ($4,300,000), rural north and south bridge renewals/upgrades ($2,560,000), cycleways for Byron Bay, Ocean Shores, Bangalow and Suffolk Park ($1,243,300) and Broken Head Road renewal ($1,191,600). Other roads to be upgraded include Byron’s Bangalow Road, Mullum’s Pine Avenue, Rifle Range Road intersection at Lismore Road and Byron’s Paterson Street. Q See pothole story on page 5
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An extraordinary Council meeting to discuss the West Byron development has been called for Thursday July 6 from 4pm at the Station Street chambers in Mullumbimby. It comes as residents and some councillors met Monday night at the Byron Community Centre to work out a strategy against. The Echo understands their proposal includes a satirical West Byron advertising campaign. A detailed report by senior Council staff member Shannon Burt, who heads the Sustainable Environment and Economy department, has concluded that the development, as presented, is not in the public interest. The land is located on a large parcel of land opposite the industrial estate on Ewingsdale Road, and has been the subject of strong public opposition over many years owing to environmental and traffic factors.
Foisted development Despite that opposition, state government bureaucrats and the planning minister have recently forced the proposal through on behalf of the developers. This includes overriding and amending planning policies. Particular issues that face the development according to Ms Burt are, ‘traffic and biodiversity,’ which, ‘have the potential to result in significant environmental and social impacts.’ QLD-based company Villa World, in partnership with Sydneybased developer Terry Agnew, are aiming to subdivide the first section into 290 lots that will provide 330 to 360 dwellings. It is expected to be the largest
suburban project for Byron Shire in a generation. While Byron Shire Council is the consent authority, the Northern Region Joint Planning Panel (JRPP) has the function of determining the application owing to the cost of construction exceeding $20m. In Ms Burt’s report, she suggests Council request ‘the JRPP to hold a public briefing meeting after the exhibition has ended, and invite any person who made a submission to present, before the assessment report is finalised.’ Throughout her report, Ms Burt points to planning inconsistencies, including ‘consent has not been provided for most of the lots associated with the later stages.’ She says there is no owners’ consent for works on Crown Land and Council-maintained road reserve on Melaleuca Drive. The application contains detailed information regarding the stage-one component of the application, she writes, ‘but no information is provided to enable a proper assessment of the concept plan for the whole of the development.’ Ms Burt says that given Council has recently adopted the West Byron DCP, ‘The applicants could, if they chose, now withdraw the current staged DA application and resubmit the stage-one component only. At this time, they have not done so.’
Massive fill required Additionally a total of 168,800m3 of fill will need to be imported for the stage-one development and the continued on page 3
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