I LOST MY IMPATIENCE IN THE FLOODS The Byron Shire Echo • Volume 36 #40 • March 16, 2022 • www.echo.net.au
‘Locals’ West Byron DA approved Aslan Shand As the region, and the east coast of Australia, reels from the impacts of the recent flooding that has left thousands of people homeless, the development application (DA) by the ‘local’ group, Site R&D, for West Byron has been approved by the Land and Environment Court (L&EC). This approval allows for extensive filling and development on the flood prone site and has left locals ‘disappointed’ with Byron Shire Council. The application was rejected by the Northern Rivers Planning Panel (NRPP) in 2019 following over 2,000 submissions against the DA. The Panel stated that ‘the site is not considered to be suitable for the proposed development in view of the identified constraints (acid sulfate soils, bushfire vegetation, flood prone land, high environmental value vegetation, koala habitat and threatened flora and fauna)’. They further concluded ‘the proposed development is not considered in the public interest’. The West Byron site was split into two DAs; one from Villaworld/ Tower Holdings and the other a group of ‘local landowners’ called Site R&D. The Villaworld/Tower Holdings had responded to Byron Residents Group (BRG) request to ‘work with the community for a better outcome’ while the Site R&D group took the DA to court with a ‘minimally altered development’. The court approved the ‘locals’ DA on 2 March claiming that it was in the public interest. The Byron Residents’ Group told The Echo that they and the
Your rights as a flood-affected tenant ▶ p8
community of Byron, are deeply disappointed that Site R&D’s (local landholders) subdivision at West Byron has been approved by the Land and Environment Court. ‘It is hard to fathom why the local landowners would do this,’ said Cate Coorey, Byron councillor and founder of Byron Residents Group. ‘Belongil estuary, koalas and wallum frogs have lost out, and we are likely to see these habitats collapse from the impacts of this overdevelopment.’ Site R&D intend to subdivide into 162 lots, which includes 25 ‘super-lots’ intended for further subdivision. Three super-lots do not identify what further subdivision is intended, two are proposed for flats, and 20 show an indicative subdivision into 208 smaller lots. Many larger lots are capable of further subdivision and shop-top housing is also intended and there will be a four metre high wall adjacent to Ewingsdale Road. ‘I am glad we managed to convince Tower Holdings to make meaningful changes to the “Harvest Estate” development by halving the size of their development, setting their development back 30m from Ewingsdale Road, excluding the habitat of the wallum frogs and removing development from the eastern koala area. It is ironic that we managed to only achieve minor concessions from Site R&D given that they are primarily local landholders,’ said BRG spokesperson Dailan Pugh. ‘What disappoints me the most is the fragmentation of this vital link for maintaining the viability of Byron’s koala population. ▶ Continued on page 4
Storylines: Return of the black swans ▶ p12
Gold standard in community resilience
Hundreds of locals gathered at Kohinur Hall in Main Arm with police, SES, ADF and Resilience NSW to look at the community response to the recent devastating flooding of the area. See report page 3. Photo Jeff Dawson
How to house people who have lost their homes? Paul Bibby Every day for the past fortnight Esme* has driven to a Lismore flood evacuation centre with the same goal in mind. ‘I’ve set myself the target of finding one house for someone, or for a family, every day,’ she says. ‘It takes four to six hours of calling, messaging and admin to find somewhere. Each person is a completely different puzzle. ‘One older lady comes up to me each day and says, “have I reached the top of the list yet?” Finding housing for those displaced by the floods has unquestionably become the greatest challenge of the flood recovery effort in the Northern Rivers.
Dramatic flood rescue stories ▶ p14 & 16
According to NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet there are 1,500 people across the State in temporary and crisis accommodation, including hundreds who remain in flood evacuation centres. Thousands more are sharing a home with friends or relatives. Government figures indicate that, of the 9,200 homes assessed so far in the Northern Rivers, 5,500 are damaged and 2,834 are uninhabitable. ‘It’s a mammoth task,’ Mr Perrottet said of the rehousing effort. Last week the Premier announced a $551m State and federally funded housing package, including 16 weeks of rental support for single person households ($6,000) and larger families ($18,000).
Health & Healing feature ▶ p18
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The package also includes $20m to give those whose homes have been damaged ‘pods’ to live in while repairs and rebuilding takes place, and $10m for temporary housing in motorhomes and at local campgrounds. As has been the case since the start of the crisis, the government response will join a major community effort that is already underway. Hundreds of locals across the region have already offered the use of their spare rooms, granny flats and cabins to help those displaced by the floods via an informal mycelium-like network of support. Among those offering free, temporary accommodation are a ▶ Continued on page 2
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