EVERYTHING POPULAR IS WRONG: OSCAR WILDE The Byron Shire Echo • Volume 35 #02 • Wednesday, June 24, 2020 • www.echo.net.au
New dam proposed for growing population David Lowe The release of a proposed $245 million plan to protect the future of the region’s water supply was unanimously endorsed by Rous County councillors at their meeting last week. ‘Future Water Project 2060’ will be going on public exhibition for six weeks from 1 July 2020. Chairperson Keith Williams said, ‘Given the recent impact of the worst drought conditions in living memory, this once-in-a-generation proposal could not come at a more critical time for our region’s water resources.’ The two main elements of the plan are a new, fifty gigalitre Dunoon Dam, to be located downstream of the existing Rocky Creek Dam and budgeted at $220 million, and a $25 million investment to upgrade the existing Marom Creek Water Treatment Plant, near Wollongbar. Although the idea of the Dunoon Dam has been controversial since it was first suggested in the 1990s, chairperson Williams said, ‘all of Council’s investigations to date show the Dunoon Dam remains the most affordable and sustainable option for securing the community’s water supply to 2060 and beyond. ‘It will also make sure our community is not burdened by excessive water restrictions,’ he said. The Echo spoke to Rous County Councillor, Sharon Cadwallader, about the perspective from Ballina. ‘The drought really brought it home to me as to the imperative to secure the region’s future water supply,’ she said.
Byron Shire Council Notices ▶ p6
‘With the current population growth, new water sources are desperately needed. And while the community have embraced initiatives like the 160 litre per day water challenge, installed rain water tanks, and taken up recycled water, it just isn’t enough to future-proof the region’s water supply.’ The latest Rous County Council research suggests that. In spite of these community incentives for greater water efficiency, projected population growth across the Northern Rivers region, over the next forty years, means that five additional gigalitres will be needed each year – that’s the equivalent of 2,000 Olympic swimming pools. General Manager, Phillip Rudd said, ‘The proposed Future Water Project 2060, is the culmination of extensive investigations over a long period to find an all-round viable solution for permanently boosting the region’s water supply’. Other water sources that have been considered following ‘extensive community input’ include desalination, recycled water, and increased groundwater use.
Dam proposal could ĶŔżëĈƐ ƆĶīŕĶǕ ĈëŕƐ Indigenous heritage Rous County Councillor, Vanessa Ekins, told The Echo that the people of the Northern Rivers need to think about future water demand, and whether they are prepared to pay much higher rates to fund the dam if water use, and population, continue to rise. ▶ Continued on page 2
New shopping complex for Lennox Head ▶ p8
Into the breach
This whale, among five pods travelling north, was photographed last Saturday by Whale Watching Byron Bay skipper, Dylan Wilson, two nautical miles north east of Julian Rocks, on one of the first tours of the whale season. For more info visit www.whalewatchingbyronbay.com.au.
ŔŕĕƆƐƷ şǔ ĕſĕĎ Īşſ ƖŕëżżſşưĕĎ ĎƱĕōōĶŕīƆ Paul Bibby Local landowners with unauthorised dwellings on their properties will be given an 18-month amnesty to seek development approval without the threat of being fined, Byron Council has decided. The measure forms part of a new strategy to deal with the thousands of houses, studios and cabins built without approval across the Shire over the past five decades. Passed at last week’s planning meeting, the strategy includes the preparation of an Unauthorised Residential Accommodation policy, to formalise the planning pathways, and consequences, for unauthorised dwellings seeking approval retrospectively.
Oh the humanities – this govt doesn’t care for education ▶ p14
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Any unauthorised residential dwelling, built after June 18, would be subject to enforcement action. Greens Deputy Mayor Sarah Ndiaye said, ‘We have an enormous amount of unauthorised dwellings, and we don’t have the capacity to accommodate all the people living in them if we knock down all of those houses. ‘We have a housing affordability crisis. We have a duty of care and we can’t just throw people out. ‘And we need to provide staff with a process for dealing with these dwellings. ‘At the moment, people are spending a huge amount of time, energy and money to make a property that is illegal, legal. That money goes to planners and
lawyers, but it costs our staff time and money, and resources, with very little in return.’ The meeting heard that Council’s chief legal counsel, Ralph James, had already drafted a proposed policy which could be ‘resurrected’ relatively easily, subject to the input from councillors. The new strategy, passed by a vote of eight councillors to one, formed part of the response to a request by a landowner on Yagers Lane, Skinners Shoot for approval of an unauthorised house. A Council staff report stated that the house, sitting on 4.1 hectares of land zoned RU2, was consistent with the Byron Rural Land Use Strategy. The request for approval was also granted.
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