Dieter Horstmann, Tyagarah
The decision of the state planning minister indicates how wrongly this draft LEP is done. The Byron Rural Action Group (BRAG) combines landowners who realise these mistakes with new zoning over their properties not reflecting the environment they live on every day.
No wonder, as this strategic planning work is done as a computer model over a 2009 aerial photo. I’m angry over such insensitive, negligent, careless action.
This is an urgent matter: at the recent BRAG meeting all attending landowners indicated their willingness to work with council on this draft LEP. We have been hoping to see a good gesture by our new councillors to lift E2 and E3 zonings from rural land. But at the recent council meeting, this urgent matter failed disappointingly by one vote.
Instead we have to make submissions to correct this planning mistake, spending our time and money. This is unacceptable, with the bureaucrats having made zoning decisions without looking at the environment itself. This could end up in court cases, which councillors should avoid.
Over the last 15 years, I worked designing and planting a paradise to live in harmony with nature. The Byron Eco Park is setting an example in demonstrating good strategic planning in this shire; it benefits our community. Another good example is the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary on the Gold Coast.
On the weekend of October 20–21, the Eco Park at Eagle Farm, Tyagarah, will be open for public inspection for all to see for themselves the innovative work that has been done here, which others can hopefully be inspired by.
Computer modelling is the darling of the lazy researcher and the cheapskate government. Flawed data skews the results and the users interpretation. They are as reliable and prone to abuse as statistics are.