ARE WE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER OR IS EVERYONE IN IT FOR THEMSELVES? ASKING FOR A FRIEND The Byron Shire Echo • Volume 35 #07 • Wednesday, July 29, 2020 • www.echo.net.au
Govcorp takes Council to court over Bruns holiday park
Clarkes Beach recedes
Paul Bibby
Heavy rains also brought rough seas which have eroded sand at Clarkes Beach. Photo Jeff ‘Retreat Retreat Advance Advance’ Dawson
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showing a slug of sand coming around Wategos and the Pass, and this will eventually replenish Clarkes Beach. ‘The southerly swell transport system has finally fired up after a few years of negligible south swell, and hopefully if this continues sand will continue to build up. ‘However it will not rebuild the steep dune escarpment and this will need to be addressed by other coastal management strategies in consultation with NSW government agencies and other stakeholders’, she said. A spokesperson for Reflections Holiday Park, who manage the
ig swells have chipped further into Byron Bay’s Clarkes Beach, leading Council to close beach path access. Stormwater pipes were exposed and mature trees and coastal vegetation fell into the ocean. The beach was already severely depleted of sand from previous storms, and Council staff said on July 22 they cleaned up some beach debris, including trees and branches. The public are asked to stay clear of the eroded and unstable sand dunes, and to only use access paths that are open, to get onto the beach. Council’s coastal and biodiversity
co-ordinator, Chloe Dowsett, said, ‘There is a very steep drop from the top of the dunes to the beach, and we have repaired or closed some access paths to make sure that no one gets hurt. ‘We have also lost more of our concrete access path that was installed for people with mobility devices like wheelchairs. ‘Reflections [Holiday Parks] is also working on the area of Clarkes Beach near the holiday park, to ensure access paths that are not safe are closed, as well as removing rubbish and debris’. Ms Dowsett believes the sand will return, ‘With aerial shots
Historic Byron rail turntable removed for bus terminal ▶ p4
Homeless numbers are up, and it’s homelessness week! ▶ p7
Chris Hanley OAM 0419 662 338
www.byronbayfn.com.au 6685 8466
James Young
Su Reynolds
0419 856 840
0428 888 660
Helene Adams 0412 139 807
Luke Elwin 0421 375 635
Clarkes Beach Holiday Park, told The Echo, ‘The current advice is to retreat, which Reflections did last year, when it repositioned cabins’.
Retreat advice Despite the ‘advice’ of retreat, Reflections told The Echo that they are ‘working on a long term engineering solution that will be best for the beach, environment, and holiday park’. The spokesperson said, ‘These erosion events and challenges are similar to those happening up and down the east coast. Erosion at Stockton and Wamberal are examples.’
Byron Shire Council Notices ▶ p8
Paul Banister 0438 856 552
0421 171 499
Mungo asks if we are recessed or depressed? ▶ p9
Helen Huntly-Barratt
Oliver Aldridge
The long-running dispute over the Terrace Reserve caravan park in Brunswick Heads has ended up in the Land & Environment Court, with NSW government-run Reflections Holiday Parks (RHP) commencing proceedings against Byron Shire Council. In a case that some local residents say should have been brought to public attention by the Council months ago, RHP has launched the action over the ‘deemed refusal’ of its new activity application to operate the park. The Echo understands that the activity application was submitted by RHP last year and includes a proposed change to the park’s boundaries. In a statement to The Echo, Byron Council said it would contend in the case that the application ‘should be refused because insufficient information has been provided to enable a proper assessment of the proposed activity’. Council’s legal counsel, Ralph James, said that the two parties took part in a conciliation conference last week before Senior Commissioner Susan Dixon. ‘Marsdens lawyers appeared on behalf of Council,’ Mr James said. ‘The conciliation conference did not resolve the matters in dispute, and it was adjourned to Wednesday August 19, 2020 for mention.’ RHP put a somewhat different spin on the proceedings. ▶ Continued on page 5
0412 332 232
Greg Price 0412 871 500
Tara Torkkola 0423 519 698
The Scoop ▶ p14
Normal For Now ▶ p15
Paul Prior 0418 324 297
Vanessa Coles
Denzil Lloyd
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